


Castle Guards

by ammiehawk



Series: Wands, Guns, and Kunai [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Naruto
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-30
Updated: 2015-04-20
Packaged: 2018-03-04 07:34:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 128,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2995781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ammiehawk/pseuds/ammiehawk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>First in the Wands, Guns, and Kunai series. Eight new students come to Hogwarts from Japan, little does anyone realize that Dumbledore actually hired elite ninja to protect some of his students. Neji/Naru, meaning it is a yaoi story, other pairings inside</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mission Details

Castle Guards: A Naruto Harry Potter Crossover

By Ammie Hawk

 

Disclaimer: I in no way, shape, or form own Naruto or Harry Potter, I just like playing with the characters, situations, and locations therein.

 

Warnings: Yaoi, Violence, Swearing, large sections of HP&OotP

 

“Japanese”

‘thoughts’

“ **Kyuubi”**

 

Chapter 1: Mission Details

 

Four masked figures approached the tower in the center of the village. Why? you may ask. They were summoned there for a mission of course. The fox masked one landed in front of the door, followed by the hawk, wolf, and tiger. After doing a quick scan of the area, he motioned for the other three to follow him inside. They made their way to the top of the tower and stopped at a door. The fox nodded at the two masked doormen and proceeded to knock on the heavy oak portal.

“Enter,” a rather annoyed female voice called from the other side.

The four figures entered the office and immediately fell to one knee in front of the blonde woman behind the desk, all of them taking note of the bearded stranger standing to her left.

“You called, Lady Hokage?” the fox asked, raising his head to look at the leader of his village.

“That I did,” she nodded. “I have a mission for you and your squad.”

“Oh?” a brow rose behind the mask, not that the woman before him could see it.

“You and your squad, along with a high ranking medic, will be stationed at a foreign school for a year,” the Hokage held the blue eyes of the fox ANBU. “This,” she motioned to the old man, “is the client.”

The fox nodded his head in respect to the strange looking old man, though inside he highly doubted whether he would ever take him seriously, what with his long midnight blue dress and pointed hat.

“Hello,” the man greeted in slightly accented Japanese, his blue eyes sparkling behind half-moon spectacles. “My name is Albus Dumbledore. I hear you are the best of your age this village has to offer.”

Though said politely, the four ANBU stiffened at the unintentional slight. True, they were the youngest ANBU squad in the force at the moment, but they were also one of the best, never failing to complete a mission with accuracy.

“They are the best I’ve got,” Tsunade ground her teeth, trying her best not to snap at the ignorant man beside her. “In fact, the leader,” she indicated the fox, “has recently been chosen to replace me when I retire.”

“You mean it, Grandma Tsunade?” all decorum and professionalism deserted the fox ANBU at her words.

“Of course I do, brat,” she glared playfully at him. “You will begin your training once you return from this mission. And I believe I told you not to call me that.”

“My apologies, Lady Tsunade,” he bowed his head, more for the guest than the fact that he actually meant it.

“Please continue, Dumbledore,” Tsunade motioned for the old man to take over once again.

“I am Headmaster of a school in Britain known as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.” If he expected a reaction to this announcement, he was to be disappointed by the, once again, professional ANBU before him. “There are some students there that need protecting this year, and I hope you are all up to the task.”

“Hai,” the four replied in unison.

“I have also hired some other shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Sand, so our alliance with the Hidden Ninja community will not be questioned as siding with only one nation. And it makes it so the students you will be guarding will have a two man team.”

“It usually doesn’t work that way, Dumbledore,” the Hokage gave him a strained look. “Separating a ninja squad and pairing them up with strangers may result in conflict.”

“I’m hoping that, because I have the best of both villages, that won’t be an issue,” the wizard smiled amiably.

“You’re just lucky Gaara’s our ally,” the fox muttered under his breath.

“I shall give you further details on your charges and the teams as soon as we arrive in Britain. As it is, time runs short and we need to be going soon,” Dumbledore nodded at the masked figures before him.

“You have half an hour to gather your things, say good bye, and meet back here. I expect all of you to pack light, as clothes will be provided for you, you will need only a couple outfits apiece. I will have the medic ready by the time you return,” Tsunade dismissed them with a flick of her hand.

Half an hour later, the four ANBU returned, each carrying a backpack over their shoulders, and accompanied by a very large white and brown dog. They nodded to the Hokage and Dumbledore, but the fox stopped when he saw the medic that would be accompanying them.

“Sakura?” he questioned before he could stop himself.

“Sir,” she bowed in respect to the higher ranking ninja. Inside, however, she was cursing the damn masks the elite group of ninja wore. She knew one of them had to be one of her former classmates from the academy, Kiba Inuzuka, as Akamaru, said ninja’s dog, was there, but she couldn’t for the life of her think of who else had gone on to become ANBU.

“Very good,” Dumbledore eyed the group appreciatively, that is until he noticed the large canine among them. “I’m afraid the dog is not allowed to come,” he said apologetically.

“If Akamaru can’t go, then I’m staying here,” the wolf ANBU crossed his arms over his chest stubbornly.

“Akamaru and Kiba are inseparable,” Tsunade shrugged. “And I wouldn’t have recommended them if I wasn’t sure of their abilities. Akamaru will be a great asset to have on this mission. Though, Kiba, I would recommend that you place a transformation jutsu on him to make him smaller.”

The wolf ANBU sighed and made a quick hand sign, a puff of smoke engulfed the dog and when it cleared it revealed Akamaru as his former puppy self. Once completed, the canine jumped into Kiba’s arms. Dumbledore nodded in approval and reached inside his pocket, pulling out an old, worn out sneaker.

“If everyone would please touch the Portkey, we shall be leaving momentarily,” he held out the shoe. “A single finger will do. And Kiba, you might want to keep a firm grip on your dog.”

The five ninja stepped forward, reached out a finger, and placed it on the item. After the last person had placed their finger on it, the shoe suddenly glowed blue and each of them felt a slight tug behind their navel.

8888888

(AN: Here there is a language switch, before everything was spoken in Japanese, but now as they are in Japanese will be “Blah”)

 

They landed in a dimly lit room, and only their ninja training kept them on their feet. The five shinobi glanced around, taking in the old house, as Dumbledore replaced the shoe in his pocket and made his way over to a door at the end of a small flight of stairs.

“Good evening, everyone,” Dumbledore greeted the room quietly. “I take it the others have arrived? Good. I shan’t be long, I was just dropping off the remainder the transfer students.”

“Dumbledore-sama?” the fox questioned, glancing at the rest of the group to see if they had understood anything the old man had said. “Sir, what are you saying?”

“Of course,” Dumbledore shook his head and closed the door, “how could I have forgotten.” He muttered something under his breath and the shinobi felt something like water wash over them, leaving a tingling sensation. “Now you will be able to understand and converse in English. You will still be able to speak your native language, but it will have to be a conscious decision on your part to do so. Before you join the party, I think it would be wise to meet the others and set your assignments.”

Dumbledore led the ninja into a small parlor, where three other people waited. The Leaf shinobi stopped in their tracks as they saw their fellow shinobi, two of whom were also masked. The ANBU dropped to one knee.

“Lord Kazekage,” the fox crossed an arm over his chest in salute.

“Please, drop the title,” the redhead shook his head slightly, his expression blank. “For the next year, I am simply Gaara once more.”

“Alright, Gaara,” the fox chuckled softly and motioned for the others to rise.

“Well, it appears that you know each other,” Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, glancing between the fox and the stoic redhead. “That’s good, it saves me the trouble of having to introduce you, except for the fact that six of you are wearing identity concealing masks, which I am going to have to ask you to remove.”

“Excuse me, sir,” Sakura spoke up indignantly. “Anonymity is their job, it is highly disrespectful to ask such a thing of them.”

“Be that as it may,” Dumbledore shook his head. “The mission you have been assigned is an undercover one, I cannot let it be known that I have hired ninja at my school.”

“Very well,” the fox nodded.

He glanced at his three fellow ANBU, signaling them to follow orders. As one, the four of them reached up and loosed the ties holding their masks in place. The two Sand ANBU did the same. Sakura gasped as the masks lowered, and a smirk crossed the Kazekage’s face.

“Well, Naruto, it seems we shall be working alongside one another once again,” the redhead crossed his arms over his chest.

“Yeah, seems like it,” the blond grinned at his old friend.

“Sorry to break this up,” Dumbledore cleared his throat. “But I shall be pairing you up now and assigning your charges.”

“Sir, if I may,” Naruto held up his hand to stop the wizard. “I believe that Gaara and I know the strengths and weaknesses of our teammates’ best, you might want us to do the partnering up.”

“Very well,” Dumbledore looked at him expectantly. “Though I would request that the two females be put together as one of the charges is also female.”

“Okay,” Naruto shrugged, “so Sakura and Temari are one team.”

“Also, I plan on putting one of the teams on three separate individuals,” Dumbledore added.

“Shino,” Naruto glanced back to the bug shinobi. “And Kiba,” Naruto grinned. “Hmm... who to pair up with Gaara?”

“Kankuro,” the redhead held Naruto’s gaze, “unless of course you would like to be on my team, Naruto. You and my siblings are the only ones I’m not likely to kill at a moment’s notice.”

“True,” Naruto chuckled, “but I figured it would be best if you and I weren’t on the same team, as we’re both the leaders of our groups here. So that puts Neji with me.”

“Uh-hem,” Dumbledore cleared his throat. “Since the teams are now decided, I shall pass out the assignments. Temari and Sakura, you shall be watching a Miss Hermione Granger. Gaara and Kankuro, your charge is one Ronald Weasley, also known as Ron. Naruto and Neji, you shall be in charge of Harry Potter, as Lady Tsunade spoke very highly of your abilities, and he is the sole reason I hired all of you in the first place. And that leaves Kiba and Shino in charge of the three other Weasley children, Fred, George, and Ginny, you two will not be tailing them constantly, as I expect the others to, I am only putting tails on them because their mother is very concerned with their safety at the moment.” He handed out pictures to each group so they could identify their marks. “Well, you will find everything in your rooms, so I bid you all good night and farewell for now. Oh, and before I forget, you will be going in undercover as students, so I expect you to spend the rest of the day studying up on the course materials. I shall see you all at school tomorrow. And if you want to join the party, your charges are all there.”

Dumbledore headed for the exit and, with a final look back, left the room, closing the door behind him with a faint click. The shinobi looked at one another in astonishment.

“This shouldn’t be an A-ranked mission,” Kankuro sighed. “Why do we get stuck babysitting?”

“There’s more to this mission than what meets the eye,” Neji looked around at the others. “There’s something Dumbledore isn’t telling us.”

The other shinobi nodded in agreement.

“Alright, I’m going to go to the party downstairs,” Naruto shrugged, performing a transformation jutsu into his regular clothes. “Anyone else is welcome to join me, or you can go study as Dumbly suggested. Me, personally, I don’t think there’s much that these people could teach me. I mean could any of you sense his chakra? He's like a civilian.”

“There’s always more to learn, Naruto,” Sakura rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Besides, I believe that instead of chakra they have something else, something to do with the witchcraft and wizardry the school teaches.”

“Sure, Sakura, whatever,” the blond waved aside her comment as he headed out the door and down the stairs.

Neji shared a look with the pink-haired girl, and she nodded in understanding.

“We should follow him,” the long-haired shinobi sighed, also transforming his clothing. “Who knows what trouble he’ll get into.”


	2. First Impressions

Chapter 2: First Impressions

 

Naruto jumped down the stairs, landing cat-like before the door Dumbledore had opened earlier. He reached out a trembling hand to the doorknob. Not that he was nervous, far from it actually, he was excited. This mission was just what he needed at this point. Not only did he get to spend time with his squad and Sakura, but Gaara and his siblings were there as well. And maybe, just maybe, this mission would be the one to stop his regret. And he... he was gonna be the fucking Hokage, damn it, he had a right to be excited. It had only been his dream since before he could remember.

“Naruto!”

“Shit!” he muttered under his breath, placing his hand over his now frantically beating heart. “Damn it, Kiba, don’t sneak up on me like that.”

“Oh come on,” the dog boy grinned, revealing his fang like eye-teeth, “as if we’d let you come in here alone and ruin all our reputations before school even started. And hey, I thought you were an ANBU.”

“Don’t start, Kiba, I was just thinking about something,” Naruto growled.

“Ah,” Kiba placed a reassuring hand on the blond’s shoulder. “I understand.”

All the shinobi present knew that Naruto’s ‘something’ was actually the one mission he failed, or the Kyuubi. None of them really knew how to talk to him about those things either, so when he was like that they usually let him brood on it for awhile and then he’d return to his usual bubbly self.

Suddenly, from behind them, they heard the door handle jiggle as it was unlatched. The two turned instinctively, hands dropping to the pouches attached to the back of their belts, searching for kunai.

“I’ll be back in a moment,” they heard a woman’s voice. “I’m just going to see if the new transfer students would like to join us, or if they’d rather just go up to their rooms like the others.”

“Actually, we’re here to join you,” Naruto popped his head around the door, his headband glinting in the firelight. “Or at least two of us are. Oh, no, wait, here come the others.”

“Oh, you gave me such a fright, dear,” the redheaded woman who had opened the door placed her hand on her bosom, right over her heart.

“Sorry,” the blond grinned sheepishly, with his hand rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, since we’re here now, I’ll start the introductions. I’m Naruto Uzumaki, this mutt is Kiba Inuzuka, the pinky there is Sakura Haruno, the silent one beside her is Neji Hyuuga, and the other silent bug is Shino Aburame, and that’s Kankuro, Temari, and Gaara Sabaku.”

“I’m Molly Weasley,” the redheaded woman extended her hand, but when the shinobi showed no sign of recognizing the gesture, quickly withdrew it. “I’m sure the others will introduce themselves as you mingle. Make yourselves at home. Oh, and there’s food over on the table along the far wall.”

Naruto and Kiba shared a grin and made their way over to the aforementioned table. The two boys each grabbed a plate and began loading them up.

“Wow,” a redheaded boy said as he eyed their full plates. “Looks like you two are hungry, and I thought I could eat. I’m Ron by the way, Ron Weasley.”

“Naruto.”

“Kiba.”

Suddenly, a nose appeared at the top of Kiba’s jacket, sniffing the air anxiously. Ron jumped about a foot in the air at the sight.

“WHAT IS THAT?!” he practically screamed, pointing at the black nose, and drawing everyone’s attention to himself, and subsequently the two ninja.

“Oh, that’s Akamaru,” Kiba smiled, unzipping his jacket till it was halfway undone and the pup’s full head appeared.

“He’s so _cute_!” squealed the two young witches in the room as they came over to ogle the puppy.

“He’s not cute!” Kiba growled as he placed Akamaru on his head and out of their reach. “He’s a fierce fighting machine.”

Akamaru yipped happily at his new vantage point. The other ninja, however, just laughed at the dog shinobi’s indignation. At their laughter, the other people in the room returned to what they were doing.

“So what’re your names?” Naruto looked at the two girls curiously.

“Ginny Weasley,” the redhead smiled, trying to coax the puppy down with a piece of chicken.

“Hermione Granger,” the brunette turned her attention from the dog to the blond. “So where are you guys from?”

“Ko...” Kiba elbowed Naruto in the side, cutting him off. “Japan. Damn it, Kiba, it’s not like it’ll hurt anything.”

“I understand,” Hermione smiled. “The rivalry between the wizarding schools is great, it would be best that we just know the country, though I do commend you on your command of the English language.”

“Huh?” both ninja looked at her confused.

“You used big words, didn’t you?” the pink haired kunoichi summed up the situation expertly. “You’ll have to excuse these two. Naruto is known as the number one, hyperactive, knucklehead of our village, and Kiba would be ranked number two. I’m Sakura, by the way.”

“Hermione,” she smiled. “What are those things on your head? And how did your English become so good?”

“Those are our headbands, noting what village we come from,” Sakura shrugged. “And Dumbledore placed a spell on us, to help us fit in.”

“How do you know what he did, Sakura?” Naruto asked incredulously.

“I was told of this mission months ago, and have been doing extensive research on it. Just follow my lead, okay?” emerald eyes rolled in annoyance. “Anyway, I hope I get put into Gryffindor House, I've read a lot about the different Houses, and I think it's by far the best.”

“Oh,” Hermione was taken aback. “I didn't realize you were going to be sorted this year. What year are you guys in anyway?”

“Fifth,” Gaara arrived on the scene, his headband wrapped around his upper arm.

Hermione, Ginny, and Ron all instinctively took a step back from the stoic redhead. They didn't know why, but he made them nervous.

“Oh, don't mind Gaara,” Naruto threw his arm around the Kazekage's shoulders. “He's a bit rough around the edges, but once ya get to know him you'll find he's quite the softy.”

“S-s-so y-you're from another village then?” Hermione stuttered out, noting the different insignia on the Kazekage's band.

“Yes,” he shrugged off Naruto's arm and headed for the door. “I'm going to the roof.”

“I don't know if he can do that,” Hermione bit her lip and then took off after the redhead.

“Well, it was nice to meet you guys,” Naruto smiled at Ron and Ginny. “I think I'm gonna go upstairs now and find my room.”

“Naruto...” Sakura placed a hand on his arm, sensing something wrong with her former teammate.

“I'm fine, Sakura,” he gave her a reassuring look that didn't quite reach his eyes.

He headed toward the door, his mind suddenly on something else. Before he had gone ten steps, however, he ran into someone.

“Sorry about that, I wasn't watching where I was going,” he stopped and helped the black haired, bespectacled boy right himself.

“It's my fault,” the boy smiled, showing he was alright. “I wasn't exactly paying attention to where I was going either.”

“I'm Naruto, by the way,” the blond beamed.

“Harry, Harry Potter,” he extended his hand. Naruto raised a questioning brow. “You shake it,” Harry explained. “It's the customary greeting when meeting someone new.”

“Oh,” Naruto nodded and grabbed Harry's hand and shook his whole arm enthusiastically. “In our country we bow, this is a bit more personal though. I like it.”

“So, are you enjoying the party?” Harry asked, finally reclaiming his arm.

“It's not bad,” the blond chuckled. “Though I was just about to go upstairs and crash for the night, it's kinda been a long day.”

“I hear that,” Harry nodded.

“You wanna come upstairs with me? I'll probably be pretty boring at the moment, cause I'm tired, but I wouldn't mind the company.”

“I... um...” the wizard was seriously considering the offer.

“You all right, Potter?” growled a man beside them.

“I'm gonna go,” Naruto bowed and left the two wizards behind.

He made it to the landing when he sensed someone behind him. He turned and blue eyes locked with pale silver.

“What do you need, Neji?” he sighed, his exhaustion showing.

“I'm not one for parties,” the Hyuuga prodigy shrugged.

“Yeah, it's kinda hard to picture you letting loose,” the blond chuckled.

“Are you alright, Naruto?” the brunet's eyes narrowed slightly in concern.

“I'm fine,” he shook his head. “Why do people keep asking me that?”

“It could be because of the exhaustion written all over your face, or, if one knows where to look, the sorrow,” Neji said matter-of-factually.

“Sorrow?” Naruto scoffed.

“It was not your fault, you know,” Neji placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. “Stop blaming yourself. You are a great shinobi and leader, no one doubts this. You get this way at the beginning of any long mission.”

“Hey, you guys all right?” a voice asked from behind them.

“Yeah,” Naruto whipped around, his hand instinctively flying to his kunai pouch, as Neji dropped his hand.

“Do you guys hear someone crying?” the brunet's pale eyes narrowed, trying to draw attention away from his captain's actions.

Harry looked around. Someone was sobbing in the drawing room.

“Hello?” Harry said.

There was no answer but the sobbing continued. He climbed the remaining stairs two at a time, walked across the landing, with Naruto and Neji hot on his heels, and opened the drawing-room door.

Someone was cowering against the dark wall, her wand in her hand, her whole body shaking with sobs. Sprawled on the dusty old carpet in a patch of moonlight, clearly dead, was Ron.

“What the...” a kunai sprang into the blond shinobi's hand faster than Harry could blink. Naruto took a defensive stance in front of Harry, his blue eyes darting around the room, trying to catch the intruder. “Damn it!”

“Mrs. Weasley?” Harry croaked.

“ _R-r-riddikulus!_ ” Mrs. Weasley sobbed, pointing her shaking wand at Ron's body.

Ron's body turned into Bill's, spread-eagle on his back, his eyes wide open and empty. Mrs. Weasley sobbed harder than ever.

Naruto jumped and landed about a foot to the left of Harry. 'What's going on here? This is weird. First, I thought we'd failed the mission cause Ron was dead, but now...'

“ **This is strange,** ” a voice answered within his mind. “ **I've never seen anything like it before.** ”

'I didn't ask you, Kyuubi.'

“Some sort of genjutsu, it seems,” Neji muttered in his captain's ear. “Though I'm not sure what kind.”

“ **I could've told you that, brat,** ” the Kyuubi sneered.

Naruto, ignoring the fox, looked at his friend and noticed the signs of his kekkei genkai. He turned his attention back to the thing on the floor. It was still transforming, finally coming to a stop on Harry's figure.

“Mrs. Weasley, just get out of here!” shouted Harry, staring down at his own dead body on the floor. “Let someone else—”

“What needs done, Harry?” Naruto asked urgently.

“What's going on?” someone said at the same time.

Naruto and Neji stepped to the corner, letting the three grown wizards who had come in handle the situation, as they seemed to know what to do. A good sign of an ANBU, if someone else can handle it better, let them. Once Mrs. Weasley was calmed down Harry, Naruto, and Neji headed up the stairs together.

“Sorry, I know this is probably a stupid question,” the blond chuckled nervously, “but what the hell was that thing?”

“Huh?” Harry looked at him confused. “You've never heard of a boggart before?”

“Musta missed it,” Naruto smiled, and Neji nodded in agreement.

“Well, a boggart is a shape-shifter,” the wizard explained. “It takes the shape of whatever the person facing it fears the most.”

“So, I take it that Mrs. Weasley is scared of her family dying,” the blond sighed. “I don't blame her. But she should buck up and face it, death happens. It's a natural part of life, if you can't learn to accept it and move on, then you'll be forever vulnerable. Not that I want anyone to die,” he felt the need to explain himself to the wizard. “I would hate it if my friends or someone close to me died, but I would remember the good times.” His face took on a slightly whimsical expression, as if remembering something. “Yeah, remember the good times, never let them go. Let the bad times just slip your mind.”

“Sounds like someone should take their own advice,” Neji scowled.

“I follow that advice every day, Nej,” the blond shook his head. “There's just times when it's not as easy as others.”

“Wow, who knew the knucklehead could be so deep?” came a voice from behind them.

“Shows what you know, Kankuro,” Naruto didn't even turn around but kept walking.

Harry, however, had been startled by the sudden appearance of the third ninja and stopped in his progress up the stairs. When he realized who it was, he pressed himself against the wall, the three siblings made him nervous for some reason.

“You know I'm kidding, squirt,” Kankuro went up and threw his arm around the blond's shoulders. “I mean come on, you'd have to be pretty deep if you broke Gaara's streak, for which I am eternally grateful. Anyway, I was just gonna show you guys to your room, well our room actually, since the guys are rooming together. The girls are in with the other two girls.”

“How are you all going to fit in one room?” Harry looked at the ninja confused. “Last time I checked there were six of you.”

“Technically, there's eight,” Kankuro turned an amused gaze on the wizard. “But we won't count the girls. And it's not gonna be that difficult really, there are four cots and two beds. By the way, I call dibs on a bed.”

“No way,” Naruto gave the puppeteer an annoyed look. “Gaara and I get the beds, so there.” He even went so far as to stick his tongue out.

“Gaara doesn't sleep, idiot,” Kankuro rolled his eyes. “And if he wanted to, it's not like he couldn't share with me, it's not as if we haven't shared before. As for you getting the other, you have to duke it out with your 'friends'.”

“Like I said, I get one of the beds,” the blond crossed his arms over his chest.

“Of course,” Neji smirked.

“Your duckies know how to behave,” Kankuro chuckled. “I never thought I'd see the day when you'd actually be in charge of a group.”

“You just wish it was you, admit it,” Naruto looked smug.

“I've got a more important position than you,” the puppeteer scowled.

Harry looked from one shinobi to the other during their verbal spar, confused as to what they meant. He looked to Neji for answers, but the long haired boy was just watching the other two with amusement in his pale eyes and a smirk on his face. All four of them were drawn from the scene by a voice at the top of the stairs.

“Kankuro,” green eyes locked with brown.

Harry barely suppressed a shudder at the tone used by the redhead before him. He watched as the brunet paled slightly and began shifting his weight nervously from foot to foot.

“Listen, Gaara, I was just...” Kankuro began but stopped abruptly as his brother took a step forward. “I didn't mean anything by it.”

His breath was coming faster and shorter with every step the younger boy made. True, Gaara had toned down his killer instincts, but Kankuro knew he had almost said too much and the Kazekage didn't tolerate insubordination or the compromising of a mission from anyone, not even his siblings.

“I think I know what Kankuro's boggart would turn into,” Naruto chuckled and looked over at Harry and Neji, then back to the redhead. “Listen, Gaara, it's okay. Give him a break this once. Next time you can do whatever you want, I won't stop ya, but let's make a good impression here, okay?”

Impassive green eyes met hard blue steel. Gaara nodded almost imperceptibly. Kankuro let out a sigh of relief, but his mood wasn't lightened in the least as Gaara turned his attention back to him and motioned him up the stairs with a firm toss of his head. Without a backward glance, he dashed up the stairs and a moment later a door slammed shut. The Kazekage made his way the rest of the way down to the three remaining boys and stood toe to toe with Naruto.

“I would suggest you and my brother watch your banter in the future,” he said with a note of authority.”

“Uh, yeah, you're probably right, Gaara,” Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Good,” Gaara nodded. “Potter, you should get to bed. Tomorrow will be a long day in and of itself.”

“Huh?” Harry looked at the three ninja confused. He was still trying to figure out what had upset Gaara so much about he argument. “Oh, yeah, you're right, I should get to bed. Good night.”

“He's weird,” Naruto watched Harry till he was out of sight. “Oh well, I'm sure there are more like him. Well, I need to get on that reading Dumbledore assigned, wanna join me you two?”

“I have nothing better to do,” the redhead shrugged.

Naruto nodded and the three of them continued up the stairs to the room assigned to them.


	3. The Hogwarts Express

Chapter 3: The Hogwarts Express

 

None of the shinobi got any sleep that night, but they did get all the required reading done. And with Shino and Neji's help, most of them were able to understand most of what they read. It was good to have geniuses as friends.

They were just starting on the more advanced techniques of potion making when they heard shouting from downstairs. The shinobi quickly threw all their books into the trunks provided for them and darted from the room, Naruto and Gaara in the lead. They made it to the hall and realized it was just Mrs. Weasley telling off the twins, though they weren't sure where the second female voice was coming from. With a sigh, they continued to the first landing and surveyed the scene in the entry.

 _“Naruto!”_ a voice hissed from behind the blond.

He turned to the canine ninja curiously, “What?”

“It's Akamaru,” Kiba whispered frantically. “The jutsu just wore off, but I can't replace it for a few hours without doing permanent damage.”

“Fuck,” Naruto almost growled in frustration. “What should we do? We can't leave him here, and besides you wouldn't want to do that.”

“You could always pass it off as an accidental enlargement charm,” Neji suggested. “It would be the type of thing for Kiba to do anyway, either him or you, Naruto.”

“Hey, I resent that!” Kiba and Naruto shouted in unison, causing the other occupants of the room to look at them curiously.

“Eh, sorry,” Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously. “We have a slight problem, but it should be alright.”

“What is it, dear?” Mrs. Weasley forgot her anger momentarily.

“Well, you see,” the blond shinobi sighed, “it's Kiba's dog, he accidentally performed an enlargement charm on him and we don't know what one he used exactly, so Akamaru's kinda stuck being rather large.”

As if on cue, the huge white beast charged down the stairs, almost knocking all the shinobi over in the process, and landed quite suddenly next to Kiba.

“Oh my!” Mrs. Weasley covered her mouth in astonishment. “I see what you mean.”

“It should wear off in a couple hours,” Kiba shrugged.

“We could take care of it for you, dear,” Mrs. Weasley smiled kindly at Kiba.

“That's okay,” the dog ninja said hurriedly. “He'll be fine and back to his normal self in a couple hours.”

“If you're sure...”

Kiba nodded fervently.

“Harry, you're to come with me and Tonks. Leave your trunk and your owl, Alastor's going to deal with the luggage.... Oh, for heaven's sake, Sirius, Dumbledore said no!”

Akamaru looked at the large black dog and began growling low in his chest. He nipped at Kiba's hand and barked.

“What?! No Way!” the brunet looked at the black dog curiously.

“What's wrong, Kiba?” Shino leaned against the wall, and looked between the dog and boy.

“You remember that guy, Sirius Black, he owns the house?”

Shino nodded.

“Well that black dog is _him_!” Kiba couldn't take his eyes off the dog.

“He's an Animagus,” Shino shrugged.

“An ani-what?” Kiba finally looked at his teammate.

“Later,” the bug ninja turned his head slightly, indicating that Mrs. Weasley was once again talking.

“Oh honestly...” said Mrs. Weasley despairingly, “well, on your own head be it! Naruto, Neji, you're with us too.”

“Yeah, believe it!” Naruto jumped the remaining ten steps and landed cat-like beside Harry and Mrs. Weasley, almost causing the latter to faint, while Neji calmly walked down them with his hands in his pockets.

Out on the street, Naruto and Neji were lost in their amazement. Never had they seen such wonders as they did in Muggle London. They paid little attention to their companions for the whole walk to the train station, causing the witches and Harry to look at them strangely when they directed questions to them that went ignored.

Once inside the station they lingered casually beside the barrier between platforms nine and ten until the coast was clear, then each of them leaned against it in turn and fell through easily, well, except Naruto of course. When he noticed his charge and Neji disappear into an apparently solid wall, he jumped through with a kunai flying into his hand.

“What's up with you?” Harry whispered, giving the ninja a strange look.

“Heehee,” Naruto chuckled nervously. “Nothing much, really. Just wasn't expecting that.”

“If you had been paying attention to what the others were saying you would've understood the simple genjutsu disguising the platform,” Neji said calmly.

“Don't start the lecture,” blue eyes rolled in annoyance. “There's just too much to take in at the moment. I mean, did you see those loud, obnoxious horseless carts?”

“Yes, I saw them,” the brunet nodded.

Realizing he wasn't going to get more of a response from his lieutenant, Naruto let his eyes roam the platform of students and their parents. He had to admit there were a lot of people here, it would be easy to get lost in the throng, that is if it wasn't for his ninja training.

He looked back to the opening just as Moody walked through with the luggage and Gaara, Kankuro, and Shino. They were followed shortly by Mr. Weasley, Ron, Hermione, Sakura, and Temari, who in turn were followed by Lupin, Fred, George, Ginny, Kiba, and Akamaru.

The shinobi gathered into a rather tight group so they could discuss their plans before boarding the train.

“So,” Naruto began, “we all know who we're following. I'm sure we're going to be split up at some point or another, especially with Kiba and Shino tailing three people.”

“Yeah,” Sakura spoke up. “Temari and I also have to go somewhere else with Hermione, and I think Ron's gonna be with her, so that puts Gaara and Kankuro separate as well. I talked with Hermione last night,” she shrugged at Naruto and Gaara's questioning expressions.

“Okay then,” the blond rolled his eyes. “As I was saying, we'll meet back up at this Hogwarts thing and discuss further plans from there. Dismissed!”

As they finished, they were able to catch what Moody was saying and it disturbed the ninja slightly.

“I'll still be reporting Sturgis to Dumbledore,” said Moody. “That's the second time he's not turned up in a week. Getting as unreliable as Mundungus. If only Dumbledore would believe the rumors about those hidden villages, we might get some reliable help.”

“What villages are those?” Hermione asked curiously.

“Well,” Moody scratched his lopsided nose in thought, “they're rumored to be villages of magical based ninja.” This caused all the shinobi to tense instinctively. “Though most tend to believe that they are mere legends than actual places, since no one has ever found them in the past thousand years or so.”

“See,” Kiba nudged Naruto. “Aren't you glad you didn't give away our village name last night?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” the blond shook his head.

“Well, look after yourselves,” said Lupin, shaking hands all around, including the shinobi.

Naruto couldn't help but cringe slightly when the wizard got near him, and he wasn't sure why. He knew, however, it had something to do with the smell he emanated, as Kiba's nose wrinkled as well when it was his turn.

 **“Ever heard of a werewolf, kit?”** Kyuubi asked.

‘Yeah, why?’ Naruto was confused. ‘Why are you bringing up fictional monsters at a time like this, you damn fox?’

 **“Don’t be so sure they’re just fictional monsters,”** the fox sniggered. **“Considering you’ve just met one in the flesh.”**

“WHAT?!” he shrieked, pulling his hand away from Lupin.

“Naruto?” Neji’s eyes narrowed suspiciously at his captain.

“Sorry,” the blond bowed in apology to the wizard. “I don’t know what came over me, Please forgive my rudeness.”

‘Damn fox, you couldn’t have waited till I was alone to tell me that could you?’

 **“It’s so much more entertaining around others, though,”** Kyuubi laughed.

‘Don’t make me come in there and teach you not to fuck with me, Kyuubi,’ Naruto mentally glared at the fox, who stopped laughing and glared back.

A warning whistle sounded, effectively cutting in on the mental glaring contest between the Kyuubi and his vessel. The students still on the platform started hurrying onto the train.

“Quick, quick,” said Mrs. Weasley distractedly, hugging them at random, including all the shinobi, except Gaara who had backed off immediately, and catching Harry twice. “Write…. Be good…. If you’ve forgotten anything we’ll send it on…. Onto the train, now, hurry….”

The shinobi jumped aboard and waited patiently inside for the wizarding students to join them. They joined the magical students in waving to the people on the platform until they were out of sight.

“He shouldn’t have come with us,” said Hermione in a worried voice.

“Oh lighten up,” said Ron, “he hasn’t seen daylight for months, poor bloke.”

“Well,” said Fred, clapping his hands together, “can’t stand around chatting all day, we’ve got business to discuss with Lee. See you later,” he and George turned to head down the corridor.

“Hey, can I come with?” Kiba asked eagerly.

“Sure,” George grinned mischievously, draping his arm around the dog shinobi’s shoulders. They had hit it off at the party.

The train was gathering still more speed, so that the houses outside the windows flashed past and they swayed where they stood.

“Shall we go and find a compartment, then?” Harry asked Ron and Hermione.

Ron and Hermione exchanged looks.

“Er,” said Ron.

“We’re—well—Ron and I are supposed to go into the prefect carriage,” Hermione said awkwardly.

Ron wasn’t looking at Harry; he seemed to become intensely interested in his fingernails on his left hand. The remaining shinobi were watching the proceedings curiously, two of the teams wondering how they were going to follow their charges if they were going to a special carriage that not were allowed in.

“Oh,” said Harry. “Right. Fine.”

“I don’t think we’ll have to stay there all journey,” said Hermione quickly. “Our letters said we just get instructions from the Head Boy and Girl and then patrol the corridors from time to time.”

“Fine,” said Harry again. “Well, I—I might see you later, then.”

“Yeah, definitely,” said Ron, casting a shifty, rather anxious look at Harry. “It’s a pain having to go down there, I’d rather—but we have to—I mean, I’m not enjoying it, I’m not Percy,” he finished defiantly.

“I know you’re not,” said Harry and he grinned. But as Hermione and Ron dragged their trunks, Crookshanks, and a caged Pigwidgeon off toward the engine end of the train Harry felt an odd sense of loss. He had never traveled on the Hogwarts Express without Ron.

“Hey, you alright?” Naruto asked, placing a hand on Harry’s shoulder.

“Huh?” Harry looked over at the seven shinobi curiously. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine.”

“Well,” Temari stretched and grasped the handle of her trunk, “come on, Sakura, let’s go find a compartment. You coming, Gaara? Kankuro?”

“Duh,” the puppeteer rolled his eyes and followed his sister in the direction Ron and Hermione had gone.

“See you later, guys,” Sakura waved and trotted after the siblings.

“Mind if we join you, Harry?” Naruto smiled.

“Uh, sure,” the black haired wizard shrugged nervously, though he wasn’t sure why, he was comfortable around Naruto and Neji, especially after last night.

“Come on,” Ginny told them, “if we get a move on we’ll be able to save them places.”

“Right,” said Harry, picking up Hedwig’s cage in one hand and the handle of his trunk in the other. They struggled off down the corridor, peering through the glass-paneled doors into the compartments they passed, which were already full. Harry could not help noticing that a lot of people stared back at him with great interest and that several of them nudged their neighbors and pointed him out. He also noticed that the three shinobi were getting curious and admiring stares from a lot of the female population.

“Captain?” Neji asked, the use of the formal title letting Naruto know the seriousness of his friend’s actions. “What happened on the platform?”

The blond sighed, “Kyuubi told me something that could’ve waited until later, but he decided to embarrass me.”

“What did he say?” Shino inquired with a lift of his brow.

“He told me something about Lupin,” Naruto answered vaguely.

“My bugs did not like that man, though he seemed nice enough,” Shino turned his head to meet his captain’s eye.

“Alright, if you’re not going to let it drop,” blue eyes rolled up to the ceiling. “Kyuubi told me Lupin’s a werewolf.”

“WHAT?!” they both hollered, causing their captain’s hands to fly over their mouths to silence them.

Harry and Ginny turned to look at them curiously, as well as several other people from the compartment they were passing. Naruto just shrugged and continued on as if nothing unusual had occurred and the others, after sharing a look amongst themselves, followed suit.

In the last carriage they met Neville Longbottom, Harry’s fellow fifth-year Gryffindor, his round face shining with the effort of pulling his trunk along and maintaining a one-handed grip on his struggling toad, Trevor.

“Hi Harry,” he panted. “Hi Ginny…. Everywhere’s full…. I can’t find a seat…. Who are these three?”

“Oh, this is Naruto, Neji, and Shino, they’re transfer students from Japan. And what are you talking about?” said Ginny, who had squeezed past Neville to peer inside the compartment behind him. “There’s room in this one, there’s only Loony Lovegood in here—”

Neville mumbled something about not wanting to disturb anyone.

“Don’t be silly,” said Ginny, laughing, “she’s all right.”

She slid the door open and pulled her trunk inside it. Harry, Neville, and the shinobi followed.

“Hi, Luna,” said Ginny. “Is it okay if we take these seats?”

“Hey, guys,” Naruto’s brow furrowed suddenly. “What are we going to do if the others show up? There’s not enough room in here for everyone.”

“We’ll manage, as always,” Neji shrugged, pushing the blond into the window seat across from the girl called Luna.

Neji stowed the shinobi’s trunks and helped Harry and Neville do the same with the three others. He then took a seat next to his captain.

“You should get some sleep,” the brunet suggested quietly.

“I’m fine,” the blond shook his head, trying to stifle a yawn. “What’s one or two days without sleep, huh? I’ll manage.”

“Naruto, it’s been four days,” Neji sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration. “Don’t think we haven’t noticed. I can handle things for a while, go to sleep.”

 **“You should listen to him, kit,”** Kyuubi yawned. **“If you don’t get sleep soon, I’ll make you get some.”**

“Fine,” Naruto muttered, laying his head against the cool glass of the window and closing his eyes, falling almost instantly to sleep.

“What’s up with Naruto?” Harry asked, as the blond began to snore softly.

“He hasn’t been sleeping well the past few days,” Neji shrugged. “And what with the new environment and all, it’s starting to have an effect on him.”

“Why hasn’t he been sleeping?” Harry’s brow furrowed, knowing he hadn’t been sleeping well either.

“Stress,” was all the long haired teen would say.

The train rattled onward, speeding them out into open country. It was an odd, unsettled sort of day; one moment the carriage was full of sunlight and the next they were passing beneath ominously gray clouds.

“Guess what I got for my birthday?” said Neville.

“Another Remembrall?” said Harry.

“No,” said Neville, “I could do with one, though, I lost the old one ages ago…. No, look at this….”

He dug the hand that was not keeping a firm grip on Trevor into his schoolbag and after a little bit of rummaging pulled out what appeared to be a small gray cactus in a pot, except that it was covered with what looked like boils rather than spines.

 _“Mimbulus mimbletonia_ ,” he said proudly.

Harry, Neji, and Shino stared at the thing. It was pulsating slightly, giving it the rather sinister look of some diseased internal organ.

“It’s really, really rare,” said Neville, beaming. “I don’t know if there’s one in the greenhouse at Hogwarts, even. I can’t wait to show it to Professor Sprout. My great-uncle Algie got it for me in Assyria. I’m going to see if I can breed from it.”

“Does it—er—do anything?” Harry asked.

“Loads of stuff!” said Neville proudly. “It’s got an amazing defensive mechanism—hold Trevor for me….”

As he handed the toad off to Harry, the two awake shinobi shared a look, and silently put up a protective layer of chakra as Neville prodded the plant with the tip of his quill. The shinobi flinched as thick green liquid squirted from the plant. Everyone, with the exception of Shino and Neji, was covered in the green goo. Naruto’s head shot up, his face distorted in pain.

“Oh my god!” he looked like he was going to be sick. “Oh my god!”

The blond jumped to his feet, his hand covering his mouth as he dashed from the compartment. Neji’s brow furrowed as he watched his captain’s retreating back.

“One of us should follow him,” the Hyuuga looked at his fellow shinobi.

“You go,” Shino nodded almost imperceptibly. “I can manage on my own.”

The long haired ANBU nodded and followed his captain from the compartment. In the hallway, he saw no sign of the blond and this worried him a bit. Shaking his head, he made a hand sign and activated his Byakugan, looking for a specific chakra signature. There. He smirked and made his way to the end of the car, opening the door he found and entered silently.

“Damn stupid fox,” Naruto muttered, trying unsuccessfully to wash the green substance from his hair and clothes.

“Want some help?” Neji offered quietly.

The blond looked up startled. His blue eyes met the pale silver of his lieutenant in the mirror. He had been so focused on getting the junk off of him he hadn’t heard the Hyuuga enter.

Neji smirked at his captain’s actions, he hadn’t changed much in the past four years they had known each other. ‘How had Naruto become an ANBU again?’ he wondered silently. ‘Oh that’s right, he was the strongest ninja in the village, even if he was the biggest knucklehead to ever live.’

“Here,” the brunet stepped forward and helped the blond out of his jacket, setting it beside the sink. “Now lean forward,” he commanded quietly.

Naruto obediently leaned down over the sink, as Neji ran water down the drain. When it was warm enough, the brunet pressed his captain’s head into the stream of water. Naruto tensed slightly as the water rushed over his head, but soon relaxed as his lieutenant began massaging the green slop from his neck and hair.

Neji ran his fingers through blond spikes, reveling in how soft they felt against his fingers. He never would’ve thought Naruto would take such good care of his hair. But then again, how well did he know his captain’s personal life. Not as well as he would like, he decided. What was he thinking? This was Naruto, his friend, his captain, how could he be thinking about things like this.

“Um, hey, Nej,” the blond’s voice cut across his wandering thoughts, “are you almost done, the water’s starting to get cold.”

“Huh?” Neji shook his head, clearing his thoughts. “Sorry, yeah, you’re good.”

“Damn it,” Naruto cursed as he dried his hair with the hand towel above the sink. “My jacket is ruined. I guess I’ll have to burn it. Know any good jutsus?”

“I’m sure we can figure something out, captain,” Neji smirked. “Though I think nothing we can come up with will be as good as the Uchihas’ but we’ll manage.”

Naruto stiffened slightly, the towel pausing its movement through his locks. Blue orbs glared at the long haired brunet. Then without another word his hands began flashing in a quick series of hand signs. A moment later the jacket burst into flames and was reduced to ashes instantly.

“Not as good as the bastard, huh?” the blond cocked a brow in challenge.

“I concede,” Neji shook his head, his hands raised in a placating gesture. “You are far superior to the Uchihas.”

“That’s what I thought you said,” Naruto smirked, but couldn’t hold it and broke out laughing.

He finished drying his hair quickly and then threw the towel on the edge of the sink.

“Come on,” he threw his arm around the brunet’s shoulders, still chuckling. “Let’s get back to the others, I’m sure they’re all worried about me.”

Neji allowed himself to be led back to the compartment, where they found Ron and Hermione along with their guards. Gaara and Sakura both sent the pair a curious glance as they slipped back into the compartment.

“What happened?” Gaara raised a nonexistent eyebrow in Naruto’s direction.

“Damn green goo almost made me sick,” the blond beamed. “But it’s all good now, Neji here helped me get rid of all of it.”

“Green goo?” a pink brow rose in confusion.

Before anyone could answer her, the compartment door slid open once again. A pale boy, with equally pale blond hair stood there flanked by two beefy teens who, in Naruto’s opinion, reminded him of the two criminals from his hometown, Fuugin and Raigin.

“What?” Harry said aggressively, before the pale teen could open his mouth.

“Manners, Potter, or I’ll have to give you a detention,” drawled the blond. “You see, I, unlike you, have been made a prefect, which means that I, unlike you, have the power to hand out punishments.”

“What the fuck?” Naruto rounded on the blond. “What’s your problem bastard, he didn’t even do anything to you?”

Pale blue eyes traveled over the shinobi before him, sizing him up, finally coming to the conclusion that his lackeys could take him. “Who are you?”

“Naruto Uzumaki,” he said with a smirk. “Remember it, fear it, for it could be the last name you’ll ever hear.”

“Naruto,” Neji chuckled beside him, placing a hand on the blond’s shoulder. “Remember, we are on a mission here and we don’t have permission to kill innocent bystanders, no matter how much of a prick they are.”

“Damn it!” the blond growled, which caused the teen in front of him to back away slightly. “What the fuck is a prefect anyway? Not that I care, you can’t really do much to me, you’re even more of a prissy boy than Uchiha.”

There was a collective gasp from the shinobi at the mention of the traitor. It was usually a dangerous thing to mention the Uchiha in front of Naruto, but as if was said shinobi who said it, it was even more alarming.

“Naruto,” Gaara reached out a hand to comfort his friend, but quickly withdrew it at the look Neji shot him, telling him not to interfere.

“What did you call me?” pale eyes narrowed in warning.

“I called you a prissy boy,” the Kyuubi vessel smirked. “And you know, if looks could kill, I think I’d have a boo boo on my little finger (1).”

“Yeah,” said Harry, finally coming up with a comeback, “but you, unlike me, are a git, so get out and leave us alone.”

Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville laughed, while the shinobi were trying to figure out what was so funny about what Harry had said. Malfoy’s lip curled.

“Tell me, how does it feel to be second-best to Weasley, Potter?” he asked.

“Shut up, Malfoy,” said Hermione sharply, as Naruto’s hands clenched into fists.

“I seem to have touched a nerve,” said Malfoy smirking. “Well, just watch yourself, Potter, because I’ll be _dogging_ your footsteps in case you step out of line.”

“Get out!” said Hermione, standing up.

Sniggering, Malfoy gave Harry a last malicious look and departed, Crabbe and Goyle lumbering in his wake. Naruto shot a glance at Gaara, in some sort of wordless communication. He then left the compartment, giving a sideways open handed wave as he did. Neji sat in his seat, his arms crossed, and glanced down at a watch on his wrist, then stared at the now closed door, courtesy of Hermione slamming it.

Naruto followed the trio of apparent bullies for a full minute till he had enough of their cackling laughter. He approached them and latched onto Malfoy’s arm with a less than pleasant grip.

“Might I have a word,” he smiled charmingly at the two goons on the side.

“Let go of me,” Malfoy snarled, but then winced as the grip on his arm tightened slightly.

Crabbe and Goyle stepped forward to defend their leader. They were quickly sent on their way by a subtle hint from the blond shinobi, yeah, he kicked their butts and sent them flying to the other end of the car.

“Now, Malfoy, was it,” Naruto smiled, “I didn’t like your attitude back there. It reminded me of a bastard I know, and I just don’t deal with that well, considering he’s a fucking traitor.”

“What are you going to do about it,” Malfoy looked him up and down again, though not as confident without his two lackeys, “freak?”

“Freak?” a blond brow rose in question. “Is that the best you’ve got? I’ve heard better. Anyway, don’t let me catch you acting like that again, or I’ll have to do something more than talk with you about it, okay?”

He patted the pale blond on the head and slowly made his way back toward the compartment. He stopped for a few minutes when he spotted Kiba and Akamaru in a car with Fred, George, and a boy with dreadlocks.

“Hey guys,” he greeted cheerfully.

“Hiya Naruto,” Kiba waved for him to enter. “You know Fred and George right? And this,” the dog ninja indicated the boy with dreads, “is Lee Jordan, their friend.”

“I don’t think we were properly introduced last night,” Fred reached out his hand and Naruto shook it. George and Lee followed suit.

“Uh, Kiba, shouldn’t that ‘spell’ have warn off of Akamaru by now?” the blond asked, giving the brunet a pointed look.

“Uh, um, uh, it should wear off soon,” Kiba bit his lip nervously.

He subtly slipped his hands into his jacket and immediately the large white dog was enveloped in smoke. When it cleared, the puppy Akamaru stared back at them curiously.

“I’m gonna have to remove the jutsu every night, so no lasting damage will be done,” he sighed.

“That’s fine,” Naruto smiled. “So what are you all up to in here? Hopefully, Kiba’s not being a bad influence on you.”

“The ideas for pranks he’s thrown out so far have been rather childish, if you ask me,” George scoffed. “We’ve done most of what he’s done before.”

“Is that so?” a blond brow cocked, as a smirk twitched at Naruto’s mouth. “Well, he is only a novice in that area after all.”

“Oh, and you’re an expert?” Fred crossed his arms disbelievingly.

The two shinobi shared a look and both burst out laughing, causing the three wizards to look at them curiously.

“Naruto has had our village up in arms since he was eleven,” Kiba composed himself enough to reply. “Our poor sensei was always tying him up to keep him in class and out of trouble. I think his greatest achievement was when he graffitied the mountain faces of our village leaders.”

“Psh, that was so long ago,” the blond waved dismissively. “I think my best is my transformation, you know the one I made when I was twelve.”

“That one turned me off girls forever, thanks for the reminder,” Kiba laughed.

“What did you change into?” Fred asked innocently.

“A girl,” Naruto shrugged.

“A very beautiful, naked girl,” Kiba corrected, causing Naruto to grin.

“That one made Iruka sensei threaten to stop treating me to ramen.”

“Oh the tragedy,” the dog ninja said sarcastically.

“Eh, what’s ramen?” George asked curiously.

“Oh my god, you don’t know what ramen is?” Naruto clutched his heart and fell into an open seat. “It is only the best food in the entire world.”

“If you say so,” Kiba rolled his eyes.

Naruto looked at him scandalized, “Traitor! You like ramen too, you just don’t have the guts to admit it, or are you more partial to dog biscuits?”

“What was that, baka?” Kiba growled, his claw-like fingers twitching to throttle the blond.

“You heard me, dog breath,” Naruto grinned at him, but then as if remembering something sat up in his seat. “Oh shit!”

“What?” the brunet looked at him confused.

“I told the others I’d be back in ten minutes,” the blond sprang to his feet. “Neji’s gonna be pissed, I’ve already been gone fifteen.”

“You’re so dead,” canines flashed in a grin. “Not only is Neji there, but Gaara is as well, and he’d kill anything that crossed his path. Later Naruto.”

Naruto sprinted from the car and ran as fast as the other people crowding the halls would allow. As he reached out for the handle of his compartment, the door slid open almost violently. He cowered slightly from the fury emanating from the brunet in front of him.

“Uh, hi Neji, what’s up?” he chuckled nervously, his hand rubbing his neck.

“Where have you been?” Neji’s voice was ice.

“Uh, well, you see, I saw Kiba after I relieved my tension and then you know….” the blond shrugged, knowing he was in trouble.

“You said ten minutes, Naruto,” silver eyes narrowed.

“I know,” he cowered. “I lost track of time.”

“Damn, Neji’s scary when he wants to be,” Harry whispered to Ron, but Naruto heard him as well.

“Back off, now,” the kitsune vessel growled, sounding just like the fox inside him.

Neji took a step back, recognizing the tone of his superior. “Hai!” he saluted and bowed his head in respect.

“I don’t answer to you, remember that.”

“Forgive me,” the brunet returned to his seat, unable to meet the blue eyes before him.

Naruto shrugged as he returned to his seat beside the window.

The weather remained undecided as they traveled farther north. Rain spattered the window in a half hearted way, then the sun put in a feeble appearance before clouds drifted over it once more.

“I hate weather like this,” Naruto sighed, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Why’s that?” Harry asked curiously.

“It reminds me too much of my best friend,” blue eyes scanned the sky.

“Wouldn’t that be a good thing?” Hermione looked at him confused.

“To be reminded of the traitorous bastard?” the blond scoffed. “I think not.”

“Naruto,” Gaara reached over and placed a hand on the blond’s shoulder.

“Thanks Gaara,” Naruto smiled slightly at the Kazekage.

The others in the compartment wisely let the subject drop.

“We’d better change,” said Hermione at last, and all of them opened their trunks with difficulty and pulled on their school robes.

“Why do we have to wear these dresses?” Naruto complained, looking down at himself in disgust.

“You’d better get used to them,” Kankuro smirked. “Your dream job requires similar robes.”

“Grandma Tsunade never wears them,” the blond pouted.

“Drop it,” Neji shook his head. “For now we conform, as is expected of us.”

At last the train began to slow down and they heard the usual, or at least what the shinobi assumed to be usual, racket up and down it as everybody scrambled to get their luggage and pets assembled, ready for departure. Ron and Hermione were supposed to supervise all this; they disappeared from the carriage again, followed closely by Temari, Sakura, Kankuro, and Gaara, leaving Harry and the others to look after Crookshanks and Pigwidgeon.

“I’ll carry that owl, if you like,” said Luna to Harry, reaching out for Pigwidgeon as Neville stowed Trevor carefully in an inside pocket.

“Oh—er—thanks,” said Harry, handing her the cage and hoisting Hedwig’s more securely into his arms.

They shuffled out of the compartment feeling the first sting of the night air on their faces as they joined the crowd in the corridor. Slowly they moved toward the doors.

The shinobi were separated from Harry, Neville, and Ginny as the crowd pressed in around them. They didn’t mind too much as Kiba, Sakura, Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara joined them at one of the waiting carriages. They all piled inside.

“What do you think those weird horse things are?” Naruto asked curiously, peering out the window at the leathery looking creatures.

“No idea,” Shino shrugged. “Probably the first of many strange things we shall see on this mission.”

“Maybe. I’ll just ask Harry or Hermione,” the blond leaned back in his seat, “one of them is sure to know. Anyway, anything happen on the train?”

The others all shook their heads.

“Okay then,” Naruto smiled. “We’re gonna meet every night after midnight to report anything. And every weekend we’ll find somewhere to train. If this changes, I’ll let you know.”

 

  1.       When I was younger, my foster dad used to say that whenever we’d glare at him.




	4. Sorting and Teachers

Chapter 4: Sorting and Teachers

 

When their carriage finally pulled up to the castle, the shinobi filed out and quickly spotted their charges. Naruto ran over to Harry as he got out of his carriage.

“Hey Harry,” the blond beamed at him. “I have another stupid question for you.”

“What’s that?” the wizard tore his eyes from the strange horses as Hermione and Ron exited the carriage.

“As I said, it’s probably stupid,” his hand went to the back of his neck, “but what are those horse things? I’ve never seen anything like them before and to tell the truth, they’re kinda creepy.”

“You can see them too?” Harry asked, amazed.

“Of course I can, they’re kinda hard to miss,” Naruto shook his head.

“Young man,” a female voice said from behind the blond shinobi, who turned to the stern looking woman, “are you one of the new transfer students?”

“Uh yeah, I’m Naruto Uzumaki, believe it,” he grinned at her.

“You are to come with me,” she pursed her lips in annoyance. “You lot,” she indicated Harry and the others, “had best get up to the Great Hall, the Sorting will begin shortly.”

She led Naruto and the other shinobi inside.

“Are you coming or what?” said Ron beside Harry.

“Oh… yeah,” said Harry quickly, and they joined the crowd hurrying up the stone steps into the castle.

The entrance hall was ablaze with torches and echoing with footsteps as the students crossed the flagged stone floor for the double doors to the right, leading to the Great Hall and the start-of-term feast.

The four long House tables in the Great Hall were filling up under the starless black ceiling, which was just like the sky they could glimpse through the high windows. Candles floated in midair all about the Hall and the faces of the students talking eagerly to one another, exchanging summer news, shouting greetings at friends from other Houses, eyeing one another’s new haircuts and robes. Again Harry noticed people putting their heads together to whisper as he passed; he gritted his teeth and tried to act as though he neither noticed nor cared.

Luna drifted away from them at the Ravenclaw table. The moment they reached Gryffindor’s, Ginny was hailed by some fellow fourth years and left to sit with them; Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville found seats together about halfway down the table between Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor House ghost, and Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, the last two of whom gave Harry airy, overly friendly greetings that made him quite sure they had stopped talking about him a split second before. He had more important things to worry about, however: He was looking over the students’ heads to the staff table that ran along the top of the Hall.

“He’s not there.”

Ron and Hermione scanned the staff table too, though there was no real need; Hagrid’s size made him instantly obvious in any lineup.

“He can’t have left,” said Ron, sounding slightly anxious.

“Of course he hasn’t,” said Harry firmly.

“You don’t think he’s… _hurt_ , or anything, do you?” said Hermione uneasily.

“No,” said Harry at once.

“But where is he, then?”

There was a pause, then Harry said very quietly, so that Neville, Parvati, and Lavender could not hear, “Maybe he’s not back yet. You know—from his mission—the thing he was doing over the summer for Dumbledore.”

“Yeah… yeah, that’ll be it,” said Ron, sounding reassured. “I wonder who they are though,” he indicated two men seated at the end of the long table.

Harry and Hermione followed his gaze to the end closest to their table. Two men sat talking to each other, or at least they assumed both were talking, they couldn’t quite tell as one had half his face covered with a cloth mask. The masked one had flyaway silver hair and a patch over his left eye. The other had brown hair pulled back in a high ponytail and a long scar running across the bridge of his nose.

“How do you think he got that scar?” asked Harry, eyeing the brunet curiously.

“Maybe he got on the wrong side of a dragon,” Ron suggested lamely.

“Who’s that?” Hermione said sharply, pointing toward the middle of the staff table.

888888

The shinobi were led to an empty room. Once the door was closed, the woman turned to them, looking them over, her gazing lingering on their headbands.

“You know it’s rude to stare, old lady,” Naruto crossed his hands behind his head.

Her mouth formed a thin line, “First of all, I am Professor McGonagall and I will be shown respect young man.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” the blond shrugged.

“Secondly, I don’t know how your other school operated,” she continued, her eyes flashing in annoyance, “but here we have a set wardrobe, so I’m afraid your headbands will have to be put away.”

“WHAT?!” Naruto and Neji said simultaneously.

“You can’t do that!” the blond protested, his hands falling to his side.

“These headbands, as you say,” Neji took a calming breath, “are not mere decoration. If we are found without them, we could be killed for treason.”

“I… well… I…” McGonagall stammered. “Be that as it may, I am not asking you to destroy them, or even get rid of them, just not to wear them around this school. No one here is going to kill you for not wearing them.”

“As you said on the train, Hyuuga, we must conform for now,” Gaara said quietly. “If any questions are raised, I shall deal with them personally.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Naruto grumbled as he reached up and untied his forehead protector.

The others followed suit, until only Neji was left with his still firmly in place. At a look from both Naruto and Gaara, the long haired brunet reached up and reluctantly removed the covering from his forehead. McGonagall nodded curtly in approval.

“Now the face faint,” she indicated Kiba and Kankuro, the latter of who immediately took out a cloth and began removing his face paint.

“What face paint?” Kiba asked confused.

“Those red arrows on your face,” the witch pursed her lips.

“These?” he ran a hand along his cheek. “I can’t remove them, they’re family tattoos.”

“Very well,” she shook her head and turned to Shino. “Sunglasses.”

“You ask a lot, _professor_ ,” he glared at her as he pulled off the shades and stowed them in his pocket with his headband.

A moment later, a group of other students entered the room, all of whom looked little older than ten to the shinobi.

“Very good,” McGonagall nodded at them all. “Now if you will all form a line, with you eight in the back,” she motioned to the shinobi,” the Sorting will begin momentarily.”

The shinobi took their places and they headed out to the Great Hall. They entered, led by Professor McGonagall, who was carrying a stool on which sat an ancient wizard’s hat, heavily patched and darned with a wide rip near the frayed brim.

The buzz of talk in the Great Hall faded away. The first years and shinobi lined up in front of the staff table facing the rest of the students, and Professor McGonagall placed the stool carefully in front of them, then stood back.

The whole school waited with bated breath. Then the rip near the hat’s brim opened wide lie a mouth and the Sorting Hat burst into song.

After the initial shock of seeing a singing hat wore off, the ninja tuned out what it was saying, having heard the message it was giving in many different forms before. Instead they turned their attention to evaluating the layout of what they could see of the castle, which wasn’t much. They came to attention once more as the hat suddenly became silent once more.

Slowly the long line of first years thinned; leaving the shinobi standing before everyone and the main focus of many stares and hissing whispers. Finally, “Zeller, Rose” was sorted into Hufflepuff, and Professor Dumbledore rose to his feet.

“As you have all noticed,” he smiled at the room at large, “we have several new students joining us this year. They have come all the way from Japan, so I ask that whichever Houses they are placed in will make them feel welcome. Please proceed Professor McGonagall.”

McGonagall stepped forward once again, “Aburame, Shino.”

The bug ninja cringed inwardly at the butchering of his name (1), but walked calmly forward and placed the hat on his head.

 _“Hmm,”_ a voice whispered in his ear, _a clever mind, a strategist, I know just where to put you.”_

 _“As long as I am in the same house as the Weasleys,”_ he answered back calmly. _“I have a job to do here and it involves them.”_

 _“In that case,”_ the hat said, _“I can’t put you in Ravenclaw, so it’ll have to be_ GRYFFINDOR!”

The hat shouted the last word for the whole Hall to hear. Shino rolled his eyes as he removed the hat from his head and made his way over to the cheering Gryffindor table.

“Haruno, Sakura,” McGonagall called out, and the pink haired medic made her way forward.

 _“Well this is interesting,”_ the hat said quietly. _“Loyalty to friends, the desire to be helpful, and a protectiveness of those closest to you, no contest there, for you its_ GRYFFINDOR!”

Sakura smiled as she joined Shino and the other Gryffindors.

“Hyuuga, Neji.”

The pale eyed ANBU walked over to the stool, amid an outburst of whispers from the Hall. “Is that a girl or a guy?” he heard this question repeated throughout the assembled students. Then suddenly the Hall was lost from view as the hat slipped over his eyes, and he was hard pressed not to activate his Byakugan.

 _“A sharp mind I see, declared a prodigy even, Ravenclaw would do, yet there’s more to you than that isn’t there. Let’s see then, bravery, willingness to follow others, yet be a leader if called upon. I’d say_ GRYFFINDOR!”

“Inuzuka, Kiba!”

 _“Hmm, honest, brave, loyal, no wonder your dog is your best friend. No questions…_ GRYFFINDOR!”

“Sabaku, Gaara.”

The redhead stalked over and placed the hat on his head.

 _“Such a troubled past here, no wonder you became so cold. Yet that isn’t who you are today, you would now gladly lay down your life for those important to you. Well then, I have no choice but to place you in_ GRYFFINDOR!”

Gaara yanked the hat off his head and glared at it before tossing it back on the stool. He schooled his features and made his way over to the Gryffindor table.

“Sabaku, Kankuro.”

The brunet sand shinobi smirked as he made his way forward.

 _“Cocky aren’t we,”_ the hat said, _“ruthless and determined as well.”_

 _“You can’t separate me from Gaara, I already know I’m in Gryffindor,”_ Kankuro thought as he rolled his eyes. _“Even if you tried I’d go there anyway, I’ll not lose him again.”_

 _“Again? Well who am I to deny a brother his love…_ GRYFFINDOR!”

The puppeteer pulled the hat off and headed over to where his little brother was seated and sat down next to him.

“Sabaku, Temari.”

The blonde kunoichi made her way nervously over to the stool, worried she’d be separated from her brothers and the others. Her confident demeanor was actually just a cover for her mother-hen antics. She hesitantly grabbed the hat and rammed it on her head.

 _“Please don’t separate me from my brothers,”_ she kept repeating to herself.

 _“You don’t want to be separated from your brothers, eh?”_ the hat asked calmly. _“You care deeply for them, especially the younger of the two. You want to protect him and keep him from harm, even if that means saving him from himself. Fine then…_ GRYFFINDOR!”

Temari sighed in relief and joined the other shinobi at Gryffindor. Now only one person was left standing before the hall.

“Uzumaki, Naruto.”

“That’s me, believe it!” he jumped up and punched his fist in the air, shocking the entire Hall into silence.

He almost ran to the stool and placed the hat on his head enthusiastically.

 _“Well, well, what have we here?”_ said the hat. _“You haven’t had a pleasant past, but you never let that hold you back. You have a desire to prove yourself to others, yet you have your limits on how you go about that, impressive. You keep your promises, are a fierce friend, and dedicatedly loyal to your home, even when it feels they all hate you, but for what I cannot see. Well, there’s only one place for the likes of you…_ GRYFFINDOR!”

Naruto removed the hat, a smile stretched across his face. He tossed the hat back onto the stool and sauntered over to join his friends at the Gryffindor table. Dumbledore once again got to his feet.

“To our newcomers,” said Dumbledore in a ringing voice, his arms stretched wide and a beaming smile on his lips, “welcome! To our old hands—welcome back! There is a time for speech making, but this is not it. Tuck in!”

There was an appreciative laugh and an outbreak of applause, though the shinobi all shared a confused glance, as Dumbledore sat down neatly and threw his long beard over his shoulder so as to keep it out of the way of his plate—for food had appeared out of nowhere, so that the five tables were groaning under joints and pies and dishes of vegetables, breads, sauces, and flagons of pumpkin juice.

“Excellent,” said Ron, with a kind of groan of longing, and he seized the nearest plate of chops and began piling them onto his plate, watched wistfully by Nearly Headless Nick.

“What? No ramen?” Naruto looked at the wide assortment of food a bit disappointed. “It’s been almost a week, I’m gonna die.”

“Honestly, Naruto, you’re not going to die from lack of ramen,” Sakura shook her head. “In fact, it’s probably good for you not to have it all the time.”

“You wound me, Sakura,” the blond clutched his heart as though in pain.

“Here, Naruto,” the man with the scar across his nose appeared behind the blond and placed a large bowl in front of him. “Just don’t expect it every day.”

“Iruka sensei?” Naruto looked over his shoulder in confusion, and immediately jumped to his feet and enveloped the brunet in a tight hug. “Iruka sensei! What are you doing here? Where’s Kakashi sensei?”

“One question at a time, Naruto,” Iruka chuckled, untangling himself from the blond. “As for what I’m doing here, that shall be explained after the feast. And, as you should have already noticed, Kakashi is sitting at the head table, where I should be right now. So I’ll talk to you later Naruto.”

Iruka made his way back to his spot at the staff table. Naruto watched him go and then turned his attention to the steaming bowl in front of him.

“Ah, food of the gods,” he inhaled deeply and grabbed the chopsticks already in the bowl.

“You know those two guys?” Harry asked incredulously.

“Yeah,” Naruto said, the wizards were amazed that he could still produce intelligible speech around the noodles in his mouth.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full, Naruto,” Sakura smacked him upside the head. “God, you’re so disgusting.”

“Ow!” the blond rubbed his abused head. “Anyway, yeah, Iruka sensei was my teacher since I was seven, and Kakashi sensei since I was twelve. And before you ask, I don’t know what he looks like behind his mask, only Iruka sensei knows that.”

“What were you saying before the Sorting?” Hermione asked Nick, deciding to change the subject. “About the hat giving warnings?”

“Oh, yes,” said Nick, who seemed glad of a reason to turn away from Ron, who was now eating roast potatoes with almost indecent enthusiasm. “Yes, I have heard the hat give several warnings before, always at times when it detects periods of great danger for the school. And always, of course, its advice is the same: Stand together, be strong from within.”

“That’s the basics of teamwork,” Naruto said, draining the last of his ramen broth. “We’ve had that preached to us since we were twelve.”

“Ow kunnit nofe skusin danger ifzat?” said Ron.

His mouth was so full Harry thought it was quite an achievement for him to make any noise at all.

“I beg your pardon?” said Nearly Headless Nick politely, while Hermione, Sakura, and Gaara looked revolted. Ron gave an enormous swallow and said, “How can it know if the school’s in danger if it’s a hat?”

“I have no idea,” said Nearly Headless Nick. “Of course, it lives in Dumbledore’s office, so I daresay it picks things up there.”

“And it wants all the Houses to be friends?” said Harry, looking over at the Slytherin table, where Draco Malfoy was holding court. “Fat chance.”

Naruto bit his lip and looked to his left, finally catching the pink-haired kunoichi’s eye. They both burst out into riotous laughter.

“Oh my god, Harry,” the blond snorted. “You remind me of me.” Then he sobered up quickly, “But you know, holding on to a petty rivalry can almost get you killed, not to mention losing your best friend to a damn snake bastard.”

“Naruto, come,” Neji pushed to his feet and grabbed the blond’s shoulders. “We’re going to the dorms. Naruto needs some sleep.”

“But the headmaster hasn’t dismissed us yet,” Hermione protested.

Pale eyes locked her in a cold stare. She shrank lower in her seat in fear.

“Shino, I expect a full report of what was said later,” the Hyuuga snapped. “You’d better pay attention too, Kiba. I shall see you both later.”

With that he marched Naruto out of the Hall. Hermione’s mouth hung open, greatly resembling a fish.

“They don’t have the password,” she finally said. “Not to mention they don’t know the way.”

“Neji knows the password,” Shino shrugged. “And about knowing the way, he borrowed Harry’s map.”

Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged nervous glances at the mention of the map. The only thought going through Harry’s mind was how the long haired brunet had gotten a hold of it since he had put it in his pocket on the train.

When all the students had finished eating and the noise level in the hall was starting to creep upward again, Dumbledore got to his feet once more. Talking ceased immediately, as all turned to face the headmaster. Harry was feeling pleasantly drowsy now. His four-poster bed was waiting somewhere above, wonderfully warm and soft…

“Well, not that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices,” said Dumbledore. “First years ought to know that the forest in the grounds is out of bounds to students—and a few of our older students ought to know by now too.” (Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged smirks, while the remaining shinobi all got thoughtful looks on their faces.)

“Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four hundred and sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr. Filch’s office door.

“We have had three changes in staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; Mr. Hatake and Mr. Umino are filling in as gamekeeper and caretaker of the grounds; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.”

There was a round of polite but fairly unenthusiastic applause during which Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged slightly panicked looks; Dumbledore had not said for how long Grubbly-Plank would be teaching.

Dumbledore continued, “Tryouts for the House Quidditch teams will take place on the—”

He broke off, looking inquiringly at Professor Umbridge. As she was not much taller standing than sitting there was a moment when nobody understood why Dumbledore had stopped talking but then Professor Umbridge said, _“Hem, hem,”_ and it became clear that she had got to her feet and was intending to make a speech.

Dumbledore only looked taken aback for a moment, then he sat back down smartly and looked alertly at Professor Umbridge as though he desired nothing better than to listen to her talk. Other members of the staff were not as adept at hiding their surprise. Professor Sprout’s eyebrows had disappeared into her flyaway hair, and Professor McGonagall’s mouth was as thin as Harry had ever seen it. No new teacher had ever interrupted Dumbledore before. Many of the students were smirking; this woman obviously did not know how things were done at Hogwarts. The shinobi, however, were now sitting at attention, looking ready to pounce at any given moment.

“Thank you, Headmaster,” Professor Umbridge simpered, “for those kind words of welcome.”

As she continued to talk the shinobi’s expressions went from mildly curious to either totally furious or perfectly blank.

She sat down. Dumbledore clapped. The staff followed his lead, though Harry noticed that several of them brought their hands together only once or twice before stopping, Mr. Hatake and Mr. Umino were once again talking quietly to each other and didn’t even bother. A few students joined in, but most had been taken unawares by the end of the speech, not having listened to more than a few words of it, and before they could start applauding properly, Dumbledore had stood up again.

The shinobi were not pleased at all. Gaara crossed his arms across his chest and stared at the toadlike woman, not liking her or her speech at all. Kankuro kept looking from Umbridge to his brother, debating whether to let Gaara act out or not. Sakura was gripping her fork so hard it was bent double and threatening to break at any moment. Temari was hovering between whether to calm down her brother or her new teammate, she decided on the latter and placed her hand on the pinkette’s arm, who immediately dropped the utensil and smiled faintly at the blond. Kiba’s fists were clenched tightly and he was growling low in his throat. Shino didn’t show his displeasure outwardly, but inwardly he was seething.

“Hey do you guys hear something buzzing?” asked Ron, trying to clear his ears of the sound.

“No,” Shino said quickly, taking several calming breaths and forcing his bugs back.

There was a great clattering and banging all around them; Dumbledore had obviously just dismissed the school, because everyone was standing up ready to leave the hall. The shinobi disappeared into the crowd, trying to calm down before they did something stupid. They decided to slip outside and take out their frustration by racing up to the top of Gryffindor tower, it wasn’t quite the same as their usual training regimens but it would do for the time being.

They entered the common room through the window and saw Neji seated on the rug in front of the fire place, apparently meditating.

“So?” he turned his head slightly to acknowledge their presence.

Shino proceeded to tell him everything Umbridge had, and hadn’t, said. Neji listened calmly, he was used to that type of attitude, not that he wasn’t affected by it, he had just learned to repress those feelings at a young age.

“I know what was said has had a negative effect on everyone, but as of right now, we can do nothing about it. We should all get to bed, for tomorrow we will have our work cut out for us.”

They all nodded as the portrait hold swung open, admitting the first of the Gryffindors. They waited around till they saw their charges and then disappeared up to their dormitory.

888888

The Gryffindor common room looked as welcoming as ever, a cozy circular room full of dilapidated squashy armchairs and rickety old tables. A fire was crackling merrily in the grate and a few people were warming their hands before going up to their dormitories; on the other side of the room Fred and George Weasley were pinning something up on the notice board. Harry waved good night to them and headed straight for the door to the boys’ dormitories; he was not in much of a mood for talking at the moment. Neville, Neji, Shino, and Kiba followed him.

Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan had reached the dormitory first and were in the process of covering the walls beside their beds with posters and photographs. They had been talking as Harry pushed open the door but stopped abruptly the moment they saw him. Harry wondered whether they had been talking about him, then whether he was being paranoid.

“Hi,” he said, moving across to his own trunk and opening it.

“Oy, Shino,” Kiba said, jumping onto his own bed, drawing all eyes to him.

“Kiba?” Shino turned from his trunk and stared at the dog shinobi.

“Akamaru thinks it’s too cold here,” he scratched the pup’s head affectionately. “He was wondering if we could sleep with you, you know, body heat and all?”

“Akamaru thought that, did he?” a smirk tugged at the bug ninja’s lips.

“Well, yeah,” Kiba tried unsuccessfully to look innocent.

Neji just shook his head as he slipped off his robes and put on a pair of loose pants.

“Please, Shino,” Kiba whined, “for Akamaru.”

This the Hyuuga couldn’t stand. There was only one person he could tolerate whining and then only for special circumstances.

“Damn it, Kiba! If you want to sleep with your boyfriend, just fucking say so, cut out the foreplay in front of everyone. And you two had best be sure those fucking curtains are drawn, cause if I see anything I’ve got dull kunai, not to mention 64 palms, and I’m not sure which I’ll use yet.”

“Oooh, someone’s got a lot of sexual tension there,” the dog boy taunted. “What’s the matter Nej, your girlfriend not putting out for ya?”

Neji’s eyes hardened and his mouth drew together in a thin line. Shino rolled his eyes and whacked his boyfriend upside the head.

“Ow!” Kiba rubbed the back of his head. “What?!”

Shino gave a pointed look at Neji and Kiba’s eyes widened.

“Oh my god, Nej, I’m so sorry,” he smacked his forehead. “I didn’t mean it. Naruto’s usually the one who flies off at us about this shit, and we all know he ain’t getting any. Anyway, Hinata’s explained the whole thing. Listen, it’s a bunch of shit and we all know it, so it’ll never be brought up again, okay?”

Neji turned his back and said a quiet, “thank you,” before slipping into bed.

“Hey, Harry,” said Dean, who was putting on a pair of pajamas in the West Ham colors, deciding to fill the uncomfortable silence. “Good holiday?”

“Not bad,” muttered Harry, as a true account of his holiday would have taken most of the night to relate and he could not face it. “You?”

“Yeah, it was okay,” chuckled Dean. “Better than Seamus’s anyway, he was just telling me.”

“Why, what happened, Seamus?” Neville asked as he placed his _Mimbulus mimbletonia_ tenderly on his bedside cabinet.

Seamus did not answer immediately, he was making rather a meal of ensuring that his poster of the Kenmare Kestrels Quidditch team was quite straight. Then he said, with his back still turned to Harry, “Me mam didn’t want me to come back.”

“What?” said Harry, pausing in the act of pulling off his robes.

“She didn’t want me to come back to Hogwarts.”

Seamus turned away from his poster and pulled out his own pajamas out of his trunk, still not looking at Harry.

“Buy—why?” said Harry, astonished. He knew that Seamus’s mother was a witch and could not understand, therefore, why she should have come over so Dursley-ish.

Seamus did not answer until he finished buttoning his pajamas.

“Well,” he said in a measured voice, “I suppose… because of you.”

“What d’you mean?” said Harry quickly. His heart was beating rather fast. He felt vaguely as though something was closing in on him.

Kiba and Shino looked up from their own preparations and stared at Seamus incredulously. True, they hadn’t known Harry that long, but they could tell he was alright, if not a bit soft, but still okay.

“Well,” said Seamus again, still avoiding Harry’s eyes, “she… er… well, it’s not just you, it’s Dumbledore too…”

“She believes the _Daily Prophet_?” said Harry. “She thinks I’m a liar and Dumbledore’s an old fool?”

Seamus looked up at him. “Yeah, something like that.”

Harry said nothing. He threw his wand down onto his bedside table, pulled off his robes, stuffed them angrily into his trunk, and pulled on his pajamas. He was sick of it; sick of being the person who was stared at and talked about all the time. If any of them knew, if any of them had the faintest idea what it felt like to be the one all these things had happened to… Mrs. Finnigan had no idea, the stupid woman, he thought savagely.

He got into bed and made to pull the hangings closed around him, but before he could do so, Seamus said, “Look… what did happen that night when… you know, when… with Cedric Diggory and all?”

Seamus sounded nervous and eager at the same time. Dean, who had been bending over his trunk, trying to retrieve a slipper, went oddly still and Harry knew he was listening hard. Kiba was looking from Seamus to Harry curiously, having no clue as to what they were talking about.

“What are you asking me for?” Harry retorted. “Just read the _Daily Prophet_ like your mother, why don’t you? That’ll tell you all you need to know.”

“Don’t you have a go at my mother,” snapped Seamus.

“I’ll have a go at anyone who calls me a liar,” said Harry.

“Don’t talk to me like that!”

“I’ll talk to you how I want,” said Harry, his temper rising so fast he snatched his wand back from his bedside table. “If you’ve got a problem sharing a dormitory with me, go and ask McGonagall if you can be moved, stop your mummy worrying—”

“Leave my mother out of this, Potter.”

Two streaks of silver sped across the room, catching the two bickering wizards off guard.

“What’s going on?”

Ron had appeared in the doorway. His wide eyes traveled from Harry, who was kneeling on his bed, his sleeve pinned to the bedpost by a strange looking knife, to Seamus who was standing similarly pinned to the wall. Kankuro, who had appeared behind him, laughed at the sight.

“To hell if I know,” Naruto grumbled sleepily, his blond spikes covered with a funny black hat that resembled a walrus. “I was sleeping when these two started yelling about something or other.”

“He’s having a go at my mother!” Seamus yelled, trying to free his arm from the wall.

“What?” said Ron. “Harry wouldn’t do that—we met your mother, we liked her….”

“That’s before she started believing every word the stinking _Daily Prophet_ writes about me!” said Harry at the top of his voice, also trying to dislodge the knife.

“Oh,” said Ron, comprehension dawning across his freckled face. “Oh… right.”

“Neither of you will be able to get those out without help,” Naruto yawned as he watched his two captives struggle. “Hey Kanky, since you’re up, mind getting those for me?”

“Sure, why not, runt,” Kankuro shook his head.

He made his way over to Seamus first, freeing him easily. He did the same with Harry, also taking his wand and setting it on his bedside table. He twirled the kunai around his fingers idly.

“Hey Naruto, catch.”

Much to the wizards’ surprise, he tossed them at the blond, who was once again buried beneath his covers. As they were about to make contact, a hand shot out and snatched the kunai from the air.

“You know, Kankuro, it’s more fun if you don’t warn me,” Naruto muttered into his pillow as he stashed the knives under it.

“You know what?” said Seamus heatedly, casting Harry a venomous look. “He’s right. I don’t want to share a dormitory with him anymore, he’s a madman.”

“That’s out of order, Seamus,” said Ron, whose ears were starting to glow red, always a danger sign.

“Out of order, am I?” shouted Seamus, who in contrast with Ron was turning paler. “You believe all the rubbish he’s come out with about You-Know-Who, do you, you reckon he’s telling the truth?”

“Yeah, I do,” said Ron angrily.

“Then you’re a madman too,” said Seamus in disgust.

“Yeah? Well unfortunately for you, pal, I’m also a prefect!” said Ron, jabbing himself in the chest with a finger. “So unless you want detention, watch your mouth!”

Seamus looked for a few seconds as though detention would be a reasonable price to pay to say what was going through his mind; but with a noise of contempt he turned on his heel, vaulted into bed, and pulled the hangings shut with such violence that they were ripped from the bed and fell in a dusty pile to the floor. Ron glared at Seamus, then looked at Dean, Neville, Kankuro, and Gaara, who had appeared in the doorway, Kiba and Shino had pulled the curtains on their bed after the kunai incident.

“Anyone else’s parents got a problem with Harry?” he said aggressively.

“Ours are dead,” Gaara said emotionlessly. “Kankuro, my scroll.”

“Huh?” Kankuro looked at him confused for a moment. “Oh yeah, here.”

He went over to his brother’s trunk and pulled out a small brown scroll. He tossed it to the redhead, who caught it without so much as blinking.

“Going to the roof?”

The Kazekage shrugged and left the room without a backward glance.

“My parents are Muggles mate,” said Dean, shrugging. “They don’t know nothing about no deaths at Hogwarts, because I’m not stupid enough to tell them.”

“You don’t know my mother, she’ll weasel anything out of anyone!” Seamus snapped at him. “Anyway, your parents don’t get the _Daily Prophet_ , they don’t know our headmaster’s been sacked from the Wizengamot and the International Confederation of Wizards because he’s losing his marbles—”

“My gran says that’s rubbish,” piped up Neville. “She says it’s the _Daily Prophet_ that’s going downhill, not Dumbledore. She’s canceled our subscription. We believe Harry,” he said simply. He climbed into bed and pulled the covers up to his chin, looking owlishly over at Seamus. “My gran’s always said You-Know-Who would come back one day. She says if Dumbledore says he’s back, he’s back.”

“So let me get this straight,” Kankuro sat down on his bed and looked at each boy in turn. “So Dumbledore and Harry both agree that this You-Know-Who character, who I have no clue who is, is back, but the government and the _Daily Prophet_ , whatever that is, say that they’re crazy for it. Shit, just be glad Gaara left when he did, he’d kill anyone who believed that trash. Harry just be glad they’re just talking shit about you and haven’t sent out assassins after you.”

“A-assassins?” Harry looked at him in shock.

“Not my story,” Kankuro shrugged as he stripped off his robes and crawled into bed in his boxers.

Harry felt a rush of gratitude toward Neville, and strangely enough Kankuro and Gaara as well. Nobody else said anything, Seamus got out his wand, repaired the bed hangings, and vanished behind them. Dean got into bed, rolled over, and fell silent. Neville, who appeared to have nothing more to say either, was gazing fondly at his moonlit cactus.

Harry lay back on his pillows while Ron bustled around the next bed, putting his things away. He felt shaken by the argument with Seamus, whom he had always liked very much. How many more people were going to suggest that he was lying or unhinged?

Had Dumbledore suffered like this all summer, as first the Wizengamot, then the International Confederation of Wizards had thrown him from their ranks? Was it anger at Harry, perhaps, that had stopped Dumbledore getting in touch with him for months? The two of them were in this together, after all; Dumbledore had believed Harry, announced his version of events to the whole school and then to the wider Wizarding community. Anyone who thought Harry was a liar had to think that Dumbledore was too or else that Dumbledore had been hoodwinked….

 _‘They’ll know we’re right in the end,’_ thought Harry miserably, as Ron got into bed and extinguished the last candle in the dormitory. But he wondered how many attacks like Seamus’s he would have to endure before that time came. Though he was glad that the new students were apparently on his side and would stand up for him.


	5. First Day of Lessons

Chapter 5: First Day of Lessons

 

The following morning, Naruto woke with the sun. He tried to go back to sleep, but the unfamiliarity of his surroundings prevented that feat. He growled quietly and rolled over. He finally crawled out of bed and got dressed.

“Hey Neji,” he called quietly so as not to wake anyone else.

The brunet turned his head and opened one pale eye to peer at the blond, “What is it?”

“Morning,” Naruto said, nodding toward the window. “Wake the others and meet me in the common room. I’ll get the girls.”

“How are you going to get past the stairs?” Neji asked curiously.

“Sexy jutsu,” Naruto shrugged.

Neji rolled his eyes as Naruto left the room. He went first to Kankuro’s bed and roused the puppeteer. Before he could figure out a way of waking the other two Akamaru bounded out of the curtains, followed closely by Kiba.

“Oh, hey guys,” he greeted quietly, so as not to wake the sleeping wizards. “What are you doing up so early?”

“Naruto wants a meeting in the common room,” explained Neji.

“Why’s he up so early?” Kiba looked over at his captain’s bed, trying to disprove the pale eyed brunet.

“New mission, strange place, take your pick,” Neji shrugged. “Anyway, wake up Shino and meet us in the common room. Naruto and the girls should be there by now.”

888888

When Naruto reached the common room, he waved to Gaara, who was sitting in front of the window, watching the sun rise. He then made his way over to the stairs to the girls’ dormitories. He made a quick hand sign and the next moment a girl with long blonde pigtails stood in his place.

“At least you’re clothed this time, Naruto,” Gaara smirked at the blonde.

Naruto stuck his tongue out before taking the stairs two at a time. He found the room labeled Fifth Years and silently opened the door.

The inside was similar to the room he slept in, except there were fewer people in here. There was also a definite feminine air to the room, but that was to be expected.

Naruto shook his head and quickly located the chakra signatures of his female teammates and made his way over to their beds, which were right beside each other. He stood indecisive for a moment, debating which one to wake up first. On the one hand, Sakura packed a pretty mean punch, but on the other hand Temari was just plain scary. He decided on the lesser of two evils and went first to the pinkette’s bed.

“Sakura,” he called quietly. “Time to wake up, Sakura.”

The pink haired kunoichi’s hand shot out and smacked the blonde upside the head. He grunted in pain but managed to grab her arm and yank her out of the bed. He caught her before she crashed to the floor and alerted the others to his presence.

“Wake up already,” he hissed in her ear, as he placed her feet on the floor.

“Naruto?” she opened her eyes just a crack. “What are you doing in here?”

“Trying to get you up for an emergency meeting in the common room,” he rolled his eyes and let go of his friend.

“Oh, alright,” she shrugged. “You should go, I’ll wake up Temari and meet you guys down there.”

“Okay,” he beamed at her and left the girls’ dormitory.

Naruto made it back to the common room just as Neji and Kankuro descended the opposite staircase. Kankuro stopped in his tracks when he spotted the blonde.

“Oy, Kankuro, stop checking me out, it’s kinda creepy,” Naruto gave him a funny look. “Don’t make me send Gamakichi to TenTen and tell her you’ve suddenly switched sides.”

“God, dude, you need to stop using that thing,” Kankuro shook his head in disgust.

“Why?” he countered, removing the jutsu. “It’s not my fault if you’ve got wandering eyes.”

“It’s not my fault you look damn sexy as a girl,” the puppeteer shot back.

“Enough,” Gaara said quietly, as the other four shinobi entered the common room.

“What’s the big emergency, Naruto?” asked Sakura, taking one of the chairs closest to the fire.

“Some things were discussed last night in our dormitory,” Naruto paced in front of the fireplace. “And I’d like to know what happened after I left the feast.”

“As for what happened during the feast,” Neji said before anyone else could speak, “I shall discuss that with you in private later.”

“Okay,” the blond nodded. “What about in the dorms? What was all the yelling about?”

Kiba spoke up, “Well apparently Harry witnessed something last year with a guy named Cedric Diggory, and the _Daily Prophet_ is lying about it.”

“Here’s what I got,” Kankuro cut in. “Both Harry and Dumbledore say some guy has come back, they didn’t say a name they just called him You-Know-Who, but anyway both the government and this _Daily Prophet_ thing are trying to cover it up by making Harry out to be a liar and Dumbledore an old fool.”

“You-Know-Who, that sounds familiar,” Naruto scratched his cheek in thought. “Oh I remember,” he snapped his fingers. “Back in June I was following a lead that led me to this old guy who calls himself Vol-Voldy-Voldemort, that’s right. Anyway, no one I talked to would call him by his name, they called him either You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.”

“What lead was that?” Neji asked curiously. “And why were we not informed?”

“There was a rumor of a snake bastard appearing in a foreign country,” Naruto shrugged. “Grandma Tsunade gave me a week to look into it, we figured it might be Orochimaru. Turns out it wasn’t. He looks a lot like Orochimaru though, but he doesn’t have hair, he’s just creepy, and he’s got the chakra of a civilian.”

“So I take it we’re protecting these kids from this Voldemort character,” Temari shook her head. “Or are we supposed to be protecting them from the government?”

“Either, or both,” Gaara replied. “We’ll have to wait and see how far the rulers are willing to go to keep Harry quiet. So we need to keep an extra close watch on our charges around Umbridge.”

“Okay,” Naruto nodded. “So Shino, I want you to put a plant on Umbridge, and all of us need to keep our ears open for any information on Voldemort. Now all we need to do is wait for our charges to make an appearance and we can begin our day.”

About an hour later Harry, Ron, and Hermione made an appearance in the common room.

“What’s the matter?” asked Hermione, as she, Sakura, and Temari caught up with Harry, Ron, and their guards halfway across the common room as they all headed toward breakfast. “You look absolutely—oh for heaven’s sake.”

She was staring at the common room notice board, where a large new sign had been put up.

GALLONS OF GALLEONS!

Pocket money failing to keep pace with your outgoings?

Like to earn a little extra gold?

 

Contact Fred and George Weasley,

Gryffindor common room,

for simple, part-time, virtually painless jobs

WE REGRET THAT ALL WORK IS UNDERTAKEN AT APPLICANT’S OWN RISK)

“They are the limit,” said Hermione grimly, taking down the sign, which Fred and George had pinned up over a poster giving the date of the first Hogsmeade weekend in October. “We’ll have to talk to them Ron.”

Ron looked positively alarmed, as Naruto snatched the poster from Hermione.

“Why?”

“Because we’re prefects!” said Hermione, as they climbed out through the portrait hole. “It’s up to us to stop this kind of thing!”

Ron said nothing; Harry could tell from his glum expression that the prospect of stopping Fred and George doing exactly what they liked was not one that he found inviting.

“What’s so bad about it?” Naruto asked curiously. “They warn about the risks, and they’re paying. I’d be game for it, just as long as it doesn’t affect my awareness level. What about you Kankuro, you up for it?”

“I don’t know, I’d have to ask them about it first,” the puppet master shrugged. “Besides, I really don’t need the money, and who knows what we’ll need to be doing in our spare time.”

“True,” Naruto nodded, crumpling up the paper and tossing it over his shoulder, where it landed in a nearby trash bin.

“Anyway, what’s up Harry?” Hermione continued, as they walked down a flight of stairs lined with portraits of old witches and wizards, all of whom ignored them, being engrossed in their own conversations. “You look really angry about something.”

“Seamus reckons Harry’s lying about You-Know-Who,” said Ron succinctly, when Harry did not respond.

Hermione, whom Harry had expected to react angrily on his behalf, sighed.

“Yes, Lavender thinks so too,” she said gloomily.

“Been having a nice little chat with her about whether or not I’m a lying, attention-seeking prat, have you?” Harry said loudly.

“No,” said Hermione calmly, “I told her to keep her big fat mouth shut about you, actually. And it would be quite nice if you stopped jumping down Ron’s and my throats, Harry, because if you haven’t noticed, we’re on your side.”

There was a short pause, in which the shinobi shared a knowing look.

“Sorry,” said Harry in a low voice.

“That’s quite all right,” said Hermione with dignity.

“Idiots, all of them,” Neji shook his head.

“I agree entirely, Nej,” Naruto sighed. “Listen Harry, you can’t let what others say about you affect you like that or you’ll end up like Gaara here. So most people don’t believe you that this Voldemort character’s back, when they lay there dying by his, or his followers’, hand, they’ll realize you were telling the truth.”

All three wizarding students looked at him in amazement. Not only had he spoken so casually about death, but he had said Voldemort’s name.

“What?” the blond looked at them in confusion.

“You said You-Know-Who’s name,” Ron shook his head.

“And?” Naruto rolled his eyes. “Saying You-Know-Who is too confusing.”

“If I know Naruto at all,” Neji chuckled, “he’s already got a nickname for him.”

“Not yet,” he shrugged. “I haven’t decided whether Moldy-Voldy suits him best or snake-face. Either one would work, too bad snake bastard is already taken.”

“Already taken?” Harry looked confused, remembering how the blond had mentioned his best friend joining said snake bastard and how he’s assumed he’d meant Voldemort.

“Yeah, back home there’s this guy who once attacked our village using snakes,” Naruto said casually. “I got eaten by one but managed to get out and save Sasuke and Sakura from another.”

“You were allowed to fight?” Hermione looked shocked.

“At that point, no one else knew they were there,” Sakura answered quickly, before Naruto accidentally blew their cover with his bragging. “Naruto, we need to talk.”

She grabbed his arm and dragged him into a deserted classroom. She gave the others a smile over her shoulder and waved for them to go on without them.

“What’s up, Sakura?” he asked, once the door was closed.

“You almost blew our cover, Naruto,” the pinkette sighed. “You’re supposed to be an ANBU, put what you learned in training to good use.”

“I wasn’t giving anything away,” the blond pouted. “I didn’t even mention we actually fough Orochimaru, I just said the snakes.”

“That’s not the point,” Sakura said in exasperation. “Here they aren’t allowed to use magic outside school until they’re seventeen.”

“What the fuck?” he said loudly. “How are they supposed to get better if they can’t train outside school?”

“I don’t know,” she shook her head. “But that’s the way it works here, and I’m assuming it’s like that in all wizarding communities, so just keep that in mind before running your mouth, okay?”

“Okay, okay,” he held up his hands placatingly. “Now let’s get some breakfast, I’m starving.”

They left the room and made their way to the Great Hall. They had just taken their seats with their fellow shinobi when Professor McGonagall handed them their schedules.

“Look at today!” groaned Ron. “History of Magic, double Potions, Divination, and double Defense Against the Dark Arts… Binns, Snape, Trelawney, and that Umbridge woman all in one day! I wish Fred and George’d hurry up and get those Skiving Snackboxes sorted….”

“Do mine ears deceive me?” said Fred, arriving with George and squeezing onto the bench beside Harry. “Hogwarts prefects surely don’t wish to skive off lessons?”

“Look what we’ve got today,” said Ron grumpily, shoving his schedule under Fred’s nose. “That’s the worst Monday I’ve ever seen.”

“Fair point, little bro,” said Fred, scanning the column. “You can have a bit of Nosebleed Nougat cheap if you like.”

“Why’s it cheap?” said Ron suspiciously.

“Because you’ll keep bleeding till you shrivel up, we haven’t got an antidote yet,” said George, helping himself to a kipper.

“Cheers,” said Ron moodily, pocketing his schedule, “but I think I’ll take the lessons.”

“The lessons don’t seem that bad to me,” Naruto shrugged. “I mean come on it’s only four classes, and nothing too taxing. It seems pretty easy actually.”

“You don’t know the professors,” Ron grumbled.

“And speaking of your Skiving Snackboxes,” said Hermione, eyeing Fred and George beadily, “you can’t advertise for testers on the Gryffindor notice board.”

“Says who?” said George, looking astonished.

“Says me,” said Hermione. “And Ron.”

“Leave me out of it,” said Ron hastily.

Hermione glared at him. Fred and George sniggered.

“You’ll be singing a different tune soon enough, Hermione,” said Fred, thickly buttering a crumpet. “You’re starting your fifth year, you’ll be begging us for a Snackbox before long.”

“And why would starting fifth year mean I want a Skiving Snackbox?” asked Hemrione.

“Fifth year’s O.W.L. year,” said George.

“So?”

“So you’ve got your exams coming up, haven’t you? They’ll be keeping your noses so hard to the grindstone they’ll be rubbed raw,” said Fred with satisfaction.

“Exams?” Naruto looked up in shock. “They never said anything about exams!”

“Calm down, Naruto,” Neji laid his hand on the blond’s shoulder. “We’ll do fine, like always.”

“Half our year had minor breakdowns coming up to O.W.L.s,” said George happily. “Tears and tantrums… Patriticia Stimpson kept coming over faint….”

“Kenneth Towler came out in boils, d’you remember?” said Fred reminiscently.

“That’s ‘cause you put Bulbadox Powder in his pajamas,” said George.

“Oh yeah,” said Fred, grinning. “I’d forgotten…. Hard to keep track sometimes, isn’t it?”

“Anyway, it’s a nightmare of a year, the fifth,” said George. “If you care about exam results anyway. Fred and I managed to keep our spirits up somehow.”

“Yeah… you got, what was it, three O.W.L.s each?” said Ron.

“Yep,” said Fred unconcernedly. “But we feel our futures lie outside the world of academic achievement.”

“We seriously debated whether we were going to bother coming back for our seventh year,” said George brightly, “now that we’ve got—”

He broke off at a warning look from Harry, who knew George had been about to mention the Triwizard winnings he had given them. The shinobi all caught it but continued eating as if they hadn’t.

“—now that we’ve got our O.W.L.s,” George said hastily. “I mean do we really need N.E.W.T.s? But we didn’t think Mum could take us leaving school early, not on top of Percy turning out to be the world’s biggest prat.”

“We’re not going to waste our last year here, though,” said Fred looking affectionately around the Great Hall. “We’re going to use it to do a bit of market research, find out exactly what the average Hogwarts students requires from his joke shop, carefully evaluate the results of our research, and then produce the products to fit the demand.”

“But where are you going to get the gold to start a joke shop?” asked Hermione skeptically. “You’re going to need all the ingredients and materials—and premises too, I suppose….”

Harry did not look at the twins. His face felt hot; he deliberately dropped his fork and dived down to retrieve it. He heard Fred say overhead, “Ask us no questions and we’ll tell you no lies, Hermione. C’mon, George, if we get there early we might be able to sell a few Extendable Ears before Herbology.”

Harry emerged from under the table to see Fred and George walking away, each carrying a stack of toast. He watched as Shino gave them a funny wave but thought nothing much of it.

“What did that mean?” said Hermione, looking from Harry to Ron. “‘Ask us no questions…’ Does that mean they’ve already got some gold to start a joke shop?”

“You know, I’ve been wondering about that,” said Ron, his brow furrowed. “They bought me a new set of dress robes this summer, and I couldn’t understand where they got the Galleons….”

Harry decided it was time to steer the conversation out of dangerous waters.

“D’you reckon it’s true this year’s going to be really tough? Because of the exams?”

“Oh yeah,” said Ron. “Bound to be, isn’t it? O.W.L.s are really important, affect the jobs you can apply for and everything. We get career advice too, later this year, Bill told me. So you can choose what N.E.W.T.s you want to do next year.”

“D’you know what you want to do after Hogwarts?” Harry asked the others, as they left the Great Hall shortly afterward and set off toward their History of Magic classroom.

“Not really,” said Ron slowly. “Except… well…”

He looked slightly sheepish.

“What?” Harry urged him.

“Well, it’d be cool to be an Auror,” said Ron in an offhand voice.

“Yeah, it would,” said Harry fervently.

“But they’re, like, the elite,” said Ron. “You’ve got to be really good. What about you, Hermione?”

“I don’t know,” said Hermione. “I think I’d really like to do something worthwhile.”

“An Auror’s worthwhile!” said Harry.

“Yes, it is, but it’s not the only worthwhile thing,” said Hermione thoughtfully. “I mean, if I could take S.P.E.W. further….”

Harry and Ron carefully avoided looking at each other, while the shinobi looked between the three curiously.

“What about you guys, what do you want to be when you finish school?” Ron asked trying to avoid the topic of S.P.E.W..

“ANBU,” Kankuro shrugged, looking over at the others, most of who nodded.

“I’m interested in the medical profession,” Sakura smiled.

“I’m gonna be the leader of my village, believe it,” Naruto gave the thumbs up, causing all the leaf ninja to shake their heads.

“That’s a really big dream,” said Hermione, giving him a worried look.

“It has been since I was like seven,” he beamed. “And it’s finally gonna come true.”

Naruto’s head suddenly jerked forward as if he’d been hit and a lump formed on the back of his head, but the wizards couldn’t see what hit him.

“Ow Gaara, that hurt,” he rubbed his head, glaring at the redhead, who just shrugged.

“What’s an ANBU?” Harry asked deciding to change the subject.

“It’s similar to your Aurors,” Neji explained. “The ANBU are the elite warriors, no that’s not right, fighting force I guess would be the best way to describe it, of our villages.”

“So we basically want to be the same thing,” said Ron enthusiastically. “That’s cool. Maybe we could end up working together sometime.”

“Doubtful,” said Gaara as they entered the History of Magic classroom.

They all took their seats and waited for Professor Binns to arrive. Naruto sat tapping his wand on the desk, much to the annoyance of Neji and Gaara, who were on either side of him. Finally, the teacher glided in through the blackboard.

The wand fell from Naruto’s hand and clattered to the floor as he went rigid and stared at the ghost professor.

“N-N-Neji, it’s a g-g-ghost,” he whimpered, clutching the brunet’s arm tightly.

“Calm down, Naruto,” Neji winced slightly. “Yes, he is a ghost.”

**“Kit.”**

“You’re not supposed to say that, Neji, you’ve failed me!” his grip tightened.

**“Kit.”**

“You’re supposed to shoot off some scientific bullshit and tell me that it’s not real.”

**“KIT!”**

Naruto jerked back, straightening up in his seat, his eyes unfocused on the wall in front of him. His hand was still clutching Neji’s arm, but it loosened marginally as his fingers extended into claws.

He turned to the brunet, a smirk on his whiskered face, revealing elongated canines. His now red eyes met the pale silver of the lieutenant.

“Thanks, Nej, I’ve got it from here,” he said in a voice much deeper than anything the wizards had heard from the blond.

“Naruto?” Harry leaned forward to talk to the blond. “Are you okay?”

“Just fine,” he didn’t look at the wizard. “You can continue now professor, sorry about my interruption.”

 **“Now kit,”** Kyuubi asked the blond tied up before his cage, **“are you going to calm down and take this like a man, or should I just stay in control till this lesson is over.”**

‘I’m fine,’ Naruto rolled his eyes. ‘I just panicked is all.’

 **“Ha,”** the fox laughed. **“You almost took off your lieutenant’s arm, blew your cover, and made me take over, which I might add made that dark haired boy very suspicious.”**

‘I didn’t force you to take over,’ the blond scoffed. ‘You did that on your own, and that boy’s name is Harry.’

 **“Like I really care, kit,”** Kyuubi shook his head. **“I don’t see what the big deal is anyway, it’s just a ghost. I personally would’ve been more worried about that werewolf we met.”**

‘I hate ghosts, Kyu, and you know it,’ Naruto sighed. ‘I wish I didn’t but they just creep me out.’

 **“Are you quite through, yet?”** red eyes rolled in annoyance. **“Cause I’m getting bored. I’m gonna untie you now, but if it ever happens again, I won’t let you go for a whole day, and I can’t be responsible for what I do to that sexy little lieutenant you’ve got.”**

‘Gods, that’s Neji you’re talking about,’ he shuddered slightly, ‘he’s like my best friend at the moment.’

 **“If you say so, kit,”** Kyuubi retreated back into his cage, freeing the blond from the ropes binding him in his mind.

“Stupid, perverted fox,” Naruto muttered under his breath, causing Neji to give him a curious look and Gaara to smirk.

History of Magic, at least the way Professor Binns taught it, was so boring, after a few minutes Naruto began wondering what he was so scared of. He started tapping his wand on the desk again, until Gaara slapped his hand still. After that, he tried to talk with Kyuubi, but he was ignoring the blond. He finally settled on twirling his wand rapidly between his fingers under the desk, just for something to do. He also decided that next time he was going to pick a different seat, one that wasn’t between two boring people.

Finally the class ended and they all headed to break. The three wizarding students were arguing about something, but the shinobi didn’t really care, they just wanted to be outside as fast as possible. Once in the courtyard, the shinobi scanned the area, making sure nothing was amiss, before heading a little ways away from their charges and engaging in a relaxed form of training, mostly it was Kiba and Naruto racing each other from one end to the other, with the others watching them.

When the bell rang, the shinobi followed Harry, Ron, and Hermione to their next class, the latter two of the three were having a rather heated argument about something or other that the shinobi could really care less about. They entered the dungeons and found seats, this time Naruto sat with Neji, who he couldn’t shake off, and Kankuro, figuring he would be more fun than his younger brother.

“Settle down,” said Snape coldly, shutting the door behind him. There was no real need for the call to order; the moment the class had heard the door close, quiet had fallen and all fidgeting stopped. Snape’s mere presence was usually enough to ensure a class’s silence.

“Before we begin today’s lesson,” said Snape, sweeping over to his desk and staring around at them all, his gaze lingering on the shinobi, “I think it appropriate to remind you that next June you will be sitting an important examination, during which you will prove how much you have learned about the composition and use of magical potions. Moronic though some of this class undoubtedly are, I expect you to scrape an ‘acceptable’ in your O.W.L., or suffer my… displeasure.”

At his words, Naruto’s hand shot into the air.

“Yes, Mr. Uzumaki,” Snape gave him a cold glare for daring to interrupt him.

“Um, by displeasure, do you mean you’re gonna torture us?” the blond asked curiously. “Cause if you are, I’d like to know now, just to be prepared.”

The eyes of the wizards in the room turned to look at him incredulously. Snape’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

“Hey, it’s a fair question,” Kankuro shrugged. “I mean if we have to scrape by in this class it’d be nice to know we are getting out of a torture session.”

“Silence,” hissed Snape. “I will not be mocked in my own classroom. Ten points from Gryffindor, five for each of you. And know this, I am being lenient only because you are foreigners and it is your first day.”

Snape continued talking to the class, but Naruto got bored and started fiddling with the short knife in front of him. Finally, Snape set them to making the potion. Luckily, for Naruto at least, Neji was sitting next to him. The brunet kept stopping him from putting in the wrong ingredients or missing a step. And it was also lucky that Snape was too busy picking on Harry and Neville to notice this.

After Potions the shinobi followed their charges to lunch, while Shino got a report on the doings of his and Kiba’s from three small beetles that flew to him from their seats among the many Gryffindors.

Halfway through the meal, Harry left the table angrily. Naruto shot Neji a look and got up to follow him. Neji sighed and quickly caught up with the blond.

“We should probably give him some time to calm down, Naruto,” Neji said quietly as they followed the wizard up to North Tower.

“We can’t Nej, and you know it,” Naruto hissed back.

“You know I can hear you guys, right?” Harry stopped his progress and turned to look at the two shinobi. “Why are you following me?”

“You shouldn’t be alone when you’re like this,” Naruto shrugged, lying easily. “As I said before, if you brood too much you’ll become like Gaara.”

“Don’t you ever get angry and want to be left alone?” the wizard sighed.

“A lot actually,” the blond smirked. “But I’m never allowed to be alone anymore. I don’t even live on my own anymore, Grandma Tsunade forced me to move in with a friend, so that he could keep an eye on me.”

“If you count Shikamaru sleeping in whatever room you happen to be in, or gazing at the clouds while you are out and about,” Neji rolled his eyes.

“Your boyfriend?” Harry questioned as they continued up the stairs, remembering that that was acceptable with the new students.

“What? No!” Naruto shuddered. “He’s just my housemate, nothing but a friend. And the only reason we even share that much space is cause of Grandma Tsunade.”

“Who is this Tsunade you keep talking about?” Harry asked confused.

“She is the leader of our village,” Neji said, clamping his hand firmly over the blond’s mouth to keep him from saying anything. “I’m afraid Naruto has little respect for her.”

“That’s not true,” Naruto protested, pulling the brunet’s hand away from his mouth. “I respect her plenty, I just think she could do better, shit, I could do better.”

“Anyway,” Neji rolled his eyes, “Harry, what is this next class about?”

Harry spent the rest of the lunch hour explaining to the two shinobi all about Divination; how he thought the professor was an old fraud, how much he hated it, he even mentioned how two years ago he had actually heard her make a real prediction and how Dumbledore had said that it was her second. The shinobi took it all in and filed it away in their minds for reference at a later date.

They were the first ones into the classroom when the bell rang.

Divination was Harry’s least favorite class after Potions, which was due mainly to Professor Trelawney’s habit of predicting his premature death every few lessons. A thin woman, heavily draped in shawls and glittering with strings of beads, she always reminded Harry of some kind of insect, with her glasses hugely magnifying her eyes. She was busy putting copies of battered, leather-bound books on each of the spindly little tables with which her room was littered when Harry, Neji, and Naruto entered the room, but so dim was the light cast by the lamps covered by scarves and the low-burning, sickly-scented fire that she appeared not to notice them as they took a seat in the shadows. The rest of the class arrived over the next five minutes. Ron and the other male shinobi emerged from the trapdoor, looked around carefully, spotted Harry, Neji, and Naruto and made directly for them, or as directly as they could while having to wend their way between tables, chairs, and overstuffed poufs.

Ron sat down next to Harry and began talking to him, while the other four shinobi sat at a table next to them.

“Naruto,” Gaara leaned over and whispered to the blond.

“Yeah, Gaara?” he looked over at the redhead curiously.

“What is this class?”

“Divination, sounds like a load of shit from what Harry says,” the blond whispered.

“What is that smell?” Kiba whined piteously. “It hurts my nose.”

“It’s coming from the fire,” Naruto shook his head. “And I have to say I agree there Kiba.”

“Good day,” said Professor Trelawney in her usual misty, dreamy voice. “And welcome back to Divination. I have, of course, been following your fortunes most carefully over the holidays, and am delighted to see that you have all returned to Hogwarts safely—as, of course, I knew you would.

“You will find on the tables before you copies of _The Dream Oracle_ , by Inigo Imago. Dream interpretation is a most important means of divining the future and one that may very probably be tested in your O.W.L. Not, of course, that I believe examination passes or failures are of the remotest importance when it comes to the sacred art of divination. If you have the Seeing Eye, certificates and grades matter very little. However, the headmaster likes you to sit the examination, so…”

Her voice trailed away delicately, leaving them all in no doubt that Professor Trelawney considered her subject above such sordid matters as examinations.

“Turn, please, to the introduction and read what Imago has to say on the matter of dream interpretation. Then, divide into pairs. Use _The Dream Oracle_ to interpret each other’s most recent dreams. Carry on.”

Gaara’s hand rose slowly into the air.

“Yes?” Professor Trelawney turned her gaze to him.

“I cannot do the assignment,” the Kazekage said in a flat voice.

“And why not, Mr.?” she trailed off, flipping through some papers on her side table searching for his name.

“Sabaku no Gaara, Kazekage of Suna,” he rattled off on instinct. “And to dream one must sleep, I do neither.”

“Everyone sleeps, Mr. Sabaku,” her voice lost its misty tone. “It is impossible for one to go completely without sleep.”

“I have not slept in nearly thirteen years, and if I did I did not dream, Shukaku saw to that one,” the redhead stared at her in annoyance.

“Mr. Sabaku,” Trelawney drew herself up and her voice went even mistier than before, “I foresee a violent young death for you at the hands of your enemies. Be careful who you cross.”

At her words all the wizarding students turned to look at the redhead.

“Too late for that one,” Gaara crossed his arms over his chest, causing all the shinobi to snigger.

“Excuse me?” she blinked at the shinobi through her glasses. “Do you all find something amusing about death?”

“Nope,” Kankuro shook his head, “just that you predicted Gaara’s.” He then turned to his brother, “Calm down, Gaara, I’ll help you come up with some shit to do the assignment with.”

Gaara nodded and proceeded to open his book to the first chapter.

The one good thing to be said for this lesson was that it was not a double period. By the time they had all finished reading the introduction of the book, they had barely ten minutes left for dream interpretation. The shinobi paired up in their teams, who’d have thought, and began trying to remember any dreams they had had recently.

“You know, I had a dream last night about an argument,” Naruto shook his head. “Oh wait, that wasn’t a fucking dream.”

Neji bit back a smile and shook his head.

“Oh wait, I know, I have this recurring nightmare that a fox lurks in the back of my mind,” Naruto chuckled, winking at his lieutenant, as he felt Kyuubi stirring within his cage.

Neji pretended to consult _The Dream Oracle_ , then said with all seriousness, “It says that means you have a demon fox sealed inside you somewhere.”

“Ah, damn it,” the blond shook his head sadly.

 **“Ha, ha, very funny, kit,”** Kyuubi growled. **“And you can tell that lieutenant of yours, that if he doesn’t shut that pretty mouth of his, I’ll do it for him.”**

‘Kyuubi!’ the blond shouted in his mind, while he blushed furiously and buried his face in his book. ‘Would you stop being such a perv? You’re starting to make me feel uncomfortable around Neji.’

 **“Hey, I said nothing wrong, kit,”** Kyuubi chuckled mischievously. **“You’re the one who took it wrong.”**

‘You may not have said anything wrong, but I know what you meant,’ Naruto scowled.

“Are you alright, Naruto?” Neji placed his hand on Naruto’s. “The bell rang, we need to get to our next class.”

“Oh, yeah, right,” Naruto shook his head, pulling his hand away quickly.

He and Neji joined the other shinobi, along with Harry and Ron at the bottom of the ladder, Ron grumbling loudly.

“D’you realize how much homework we’ve got already! Binns set us a foot-and-a-half-long essay on giant wars, Snape wants a foot on the use of moonstones, and now we’ve got a month’s dream diary from Trelawney! Fred and George weren’t wrong about O.W.L. year, were they? That Umbridge woman had better not give us any….”

When they entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom they found Professor Umbridge already seated at the teacher’s desk, wearing the fluffy pink cardigan of the night before and the black velvet bow on top of her head. Harry was again reminded forcibly of a large fly perched unwisely on top of an even larger toad.

“Oh my god, Neji,” Naruto whispered as they took a seat in the row in front of Harry and Ron, “I think one of the toads got out. Think I should call Gamabunta and ask if he lost one of his family? Maybe its Gamakichi’s girlfriend, he’s always going on about how he’s got one now.”

Neji chuckled slightly as the rest of the class filed in. The rest of the class was quiet as it entered the room; Professor Umbridge was, as yet, an unknown quantity and nobody knew yet how strict a disciplinarian she was likely to be.

“Well, good afternoon!” she said when finally the whole class had sat down.

A few people mumbled “Good afternoon,” in reply.

“Tut, tut,” said Professor Umbridge. “ _That_ won’t do, will it? I should like you, please, to reply ‘Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge.’ One more time, please. Good afternoon, class!”

“Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge,” they chanted back at her.

“There, now,” said Professor Umbridge sweetly. “That wasn’t too difficult, was it? Wands away and quills out, please.”

Many of the class exchanged gloomy looks; the order “wands away” had never yet been followed by a lesson they had found interesting. Harry shoved his wand back inside his bag and pulled out quill, ink, and parchment. The shinobi saw nothing wrong with the command given and stowed their funny little sticks away and sat back to listen. Professor Umbridge opened her handbag, extracted her own wand, which was an unusually short one, and tapped the blackboard sharply with it; words appeared on the board at once:

_‘Defense Against the Dark Arts_

_‘A Return to Basic Principles_

“Well now, your teaching in this subject has been rather disrupted and fragmented, hasn’t it?” stated Professor Umbridge, turning to face the class with her hands clasped neatly in front of her. “The constant changing of teachers, many of whom do not seem to have followed any Ministry-approved curriculum, has unfortunately resulted in your being far below the standard we would expect to see in your O.W.L. year.

“You will be pleased to know, however, that these problems are now to be rectified. We will be following a carefully structured, theory-centered, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic this year. Copy down the following, please.”

She rapped the blackboard again; the first message vanished and was replaced by:

_‘Course aims:_

1\. _Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic._

2\. _Learning to recognize situations in which defensive magic can legally be used._

3\. _Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use._

For a couple minutes the room was full of the sound of scratching quills on parchment. When everyone had copied down Professor Umbridge’s three course aims she said, “Has everyone got a copy of _Defensive Magical Theory_ by Wilbert Slinkhard?”

There was a dull murmur of assent throughout the class.

“I think we’ll try that again,” said Professor Umbridge. “When I ask you a question, I should like you to reply ‘Yes, Professor Umbridge,’ or ‘No, Professor Umbridge.’ So, has everyone got a copy of _Defensive Magical Theory_ by Wilbert Slinkhard?”

“Yes, Professor Umbridge,” rang through the room.

“Good,” said Professor Umbridge. “I should like you to turn to page five and read chapter one, ‘Basics for Beginners.’ There will be no need to talk.”

Professor Umbridge left the blackboard and settled herself in the chair behind the teacher’s desk, observing them all closely with those pouchy toad’s eyes. Naruto flipped open his book and stared at the page in front of him. He paid absolutely no attention to the words but let his eyes roam the classroom. He noticed a pattern to Umbridge’s scrutiny and decided to use it to his advantage and quickly scribbled a note to Neji when she wasn’t looking.

_‘This class is boring, wanna make it more interesting?’_

Neji scanned it over and waited for the teacher to look away again. He then scribbled a quick _No_ , and returned it to the blond. Naruto was busy writing back a response when he noticed Hermione’s hand in the air. He also noticed he wasn’t the only one looking at her either.

When more than half the class were staring at Hermione rather than at their books, Professor Umbridge seemed to decide that she could ignore the situation no longer.

“Did you want to ask something about the chapter, dear?” she asked Hermione, as though she had only just noticed her.

“Not about the chapter, no,” said Hermione.

“Well, we’re reading just now,” said Professor Umbridge, showing her small, pointed teeth. “If you have other queries we can deal with them at the end of class.”

“I’ve got a query about your course aims,” said Hermione.

Professor Umbridge raised her eyebrows.

“And your name is—?”

“Well, Miss Granger, I think the course aims are perfectly clear if you read them through carefully,” said Professor Umbridge in a voice of determined sweetness.

“Well, I don’t,” said Hermione bluntly. “There’s nothing written up there about _using_ defensive spells.”

There was a short silence in which many members of the class turned their heads to frown at the three course aims still written on the blackboard. The shinobi all gave Hermione an encouraging look.

“ _Using_ defensive spells?” Professor Umbridge repeated with a little laugh. “Why, I can’t imagine any situation arising in my classroom that would require you to _use_ a defensive spell, Miss Granger. You surely aren’t expecting to be attacked during class?”

“We’re not going to use magic?” Ron ejaculated loudly.

“Students raise their hands when they wish to speak in my class, Mr.—?”

“Weasley,” said Ron, thrusting his hand into the air.

Professor Umbridge, smiling still more widely, turned her back on him. Harry, Hermione, and Naruto immediately raised their hands too. Professor Umbridge’s pouchy eyes lingered on Harry for a moment before she addressed Hermione.

“Yes, Miss Granger? You wanted to ask something else?”

“Yes,” said Hermione. “Surely the whole point of Defense Against the Dark Arts is to practice defensive spells?”

“Are you a Ministry-trained educational expert, Miss Granger?” asked Professor Umbridge in her falsely sweet voice.

“No, but—”

“But I am, at least in my country,” Naruto stood up, angry at being ignored. “And if you don’t teach how to—”

“Well then, I’m afraid neither of you are qualified to decide what the ‘whole point’ of any class is. Wizards much older and cleverer than you both have devised our new program of study. You will be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way—”

“What’s the use of that?” said Harry loudly. “If we’re going to be attacked it won’t be in a—”

“ _Hand_ , Mr. Potter!” said Professor Umbridge.

Harry thrust his fist in the air. Professor Umbridge promptly turned away from him again, but now several other people had their hands up too.

“And your name is?” Professor Umbridge said to Dean.

“Dean Thomas.”

“Well, Mr. Thomas?”

“Well, it’s like Harry said, isn’t it?” said Dean. “If we’re going to be attacked, it won’t be risk-free—”

“I repeat,” said Professor Umbridge, smiling in a very irritating fashion at Dean, “do you expect to be attacked during my classes?”

“No, but—”

Professor Umbridge talked over him.

“I do not wish to criticize the way things have been run in this school,” she said, an unconvincing smile stretched her wide mouth, “but you have been exposed to some very irresponsible wizards in this class, very irresponsible indeed—not to mention,” she gave a nasty little laugh, “extremely dangerous half-breeds.”

“If you mean Professor Lupin,” piped up Dean Thomas angrily, “he was the best we ever—”

“ _Hand_ , Mr. Thomas! As I was saying—you have been introduced to spells that have been complex, inappropriate to your age group, and potentially lethal. You have been frightened into believing that you are likely to meet Dark attacks every other day—”

“No we haven’t,” Hermione said, “we just—”

“ _Your hand is not up, Miss Granger_!”

Hermione put up her hand; Professor Umbridge turned away from her.

“It is my understanding that my predecessor not only performed illegal curses in front of you, he actually performed them _on_ you—”

“Well, he turned out to be a maniac, didn’t he?” said Dean Thomas hotly. “Mind you, we still learned loads—”

“ _Your hand is not up, Mr. Thomas!”_ trilled Professor Umbridge. “Now, it is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be more than sufficient to get you through your examination, which, after all, is what school is all about. And your name is?” she added, staring at Parvati, whose hand had just shot up.

“Parvati Patil, and isn’t there a practical bit in our Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L.? Aren’t we supposed to show that we can actually do the countercurses and things?”

“As long as you have studied the theory hard enough, there is no reason why you should not be able to perform the spells under carefully controlled examination conditions,” said Professor Umbridge dismissively.

“Without ever practicing them before?” said Parvati incredulously. “Are you telling us that the first time we’ll get to do the spells will be during the exam?”

“I repeat, as long as you have studied the theory hard enough—”

“That’s not true—” Sakura began but cut off as Harry started to speak.

“And what good’s theory going to be in the real world?” said Harry loudly, his fist in the air again.

Professor Umbridge looked up.

“This is school, Mr. Potter, not the real world,” she said softly.

“So we’re not supposed to be prepared for what’s waiting out there?”

“There is nothing waiting out there, Mr. Potter.”

This caused all the shinobi to give her a queer look.

“Oh yeah?” said Harry. His temper, which seemed to have been bubbling just beneath the surface all day, was reaching boiling point.

“Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourselves?” inquired Professor Umbridge in a horribly honeyed voice.

“Hmm, let’s think…” said Harry in a mock thoughtful voice, “maybe _Lord Voldemort_?”

Ron gasped; Lavender Brown uttered a little scream; Neville slipped sideways off his stool; the shinobi all nodded in agreement. Professor Umbridge, however, did not flinch. She was staring at Harry with a grimly satisfied expression on her face.

“Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr. Potter.”

The classroom was silent and still. Everyone was staring at either Umbridge or Harry.

“Now, let me make a few things quite plain.”

Professor Umbridge stood up and leaned toward them, her stubby-fingered hands splayed on her desk, and Naruto could tell this wasn’t going to end well for Harry.

“You have been told that a certain Dark wizard has returned from the dead—”

“He wasn’t dead,” said Harry angrily, “but yeah, he’s returned!”

“Mr.-Potter-you-have-already-lost-your-House-ten-points-do-not-make-matters-worse-for-yourself,” said Professor Umbridge in one breath without looking at him. “As I was saying, you have been informed that a certain Dark wizard is at large once again. _This is a lie._ ”

“It is NOT a lie!” said Harry. “I saw him, I fought him!”

“Oh shit,” Naruto muttered under his breath, knowing what was about to come.

“Detention, Mr. Potter!” said Professor Umbridge triumphantly. “Tomorrow evening. Five o’clock. My office. I repeat, _this is a lie_. The Ministry of Magic guarantees that you are not in danger from any Dark wizard. If you are still worried, by all means come and see me outside class hours. If someone is alarming you with fibs about reborn Dark wizards, I would like to hear about it. I am here to help. I am your friend. And now, you will kindly continue your reading. Page five, ‘Basics for Beginners.’”

Professor Umbridge sat down behind her desk again. Harry, however, stood up. Everyone was staring at him, except Naruto, who was banging his head on his desk; Seamus looked half-scared, half-fascinated.

“Harry, no!” Hermione whispered in a warning voice, tugging at his sleeve, but Harry jerked his arm out of her reach.

“So, according to you, Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord, did he?” Harry asked, his voice shaking.

“Cedric Diggory’s death was a tragic accident,” she said coldly.

“It was murder,” said Harry. He could feel himself shaking. He had hardly talked to anyone about this, least of all thirty eagerly listening classmates. “Voldemort killed him, and you know it.”

Professor Umbridge’s face was quite blank. For a moment he thought she was going to scream at him. Then she said, in her softest, most sweetly girlish voice, “Come here, Mr. Potter, dear.”

“I’ve seen him too,” Naruto stood up once again, wishing he could just disappear into thin air, but knowing he had to do this to keep doing his job. “Voldemort is back, who else is gonna have to die before you people realize that?”

“You can come up here too, Mr.?”

“Naruto Uzumaki,” he shrugged and followed Harry to the front of the class.

Professor Umbridge pulled a small roll of pink parchment out of her handbag, stretched it out on the desk, dipped her quill into a bottle of ink, and started scribbling, hunched over so that neither Harry nor Naruto could see what she was writing. Nobody spoke. After a few minutes or so she rolled up the parchment and tapped it with her wand; it sealed itself seamlessly so that they could not open it.

“Take this to Professor McGonagall, dears,” said Professor Umbridge, holding out the note to Harry.

He took the note and the two of them left the classroom, Naruto glancing over his shoulder at Neji, his eyes filled with regret. They walked in silence all the way to McGonagall’s office, only being stopped shortly by Peeves the Poltergeist, who ended up following them.

“SHUT UP!” Harry shouted.

A door to his left flew open and Professor McGonagall emerged from her office looking grim and slightly harassed.

“What on _earth_ are you shouting about, Potter?” she snapped, as Peeves cackled gleefully and zoomed out of sight. “Why aren’t you and Uzumaki in class?”

“We’ve been sent to see you,” said Harry stiffly.

“Sent? What do you mean, sent?”

He held out the note from Professor Umbridge. Professor McGonagall took if from him, frowning, slit it open with a tap of her wand, stretched it out, and began to read. Her eyes zoomed from side to side behind their square spectacles as she read what Umbridge had written, and with each line they became narrower.

“Come in here, Potter, Uzumaki.”

They followed her inside her study. The door closed automatically behind them. Naruto listened with half an ear to what McGonagall said but pretended he was more interested in looking around her office. He finally tuned in just as the bell rang.

“It says here she’s given each of you detention every evening this week, starting tomorrow,” Professor McGonagall said, looking down at Umbridge’s note again.

“Okay, whatever,” Naruto shrugged. “Can I go now?”

“Uzumaki, if I were you, I would watch yourself, already today you have gotten yourself in trouble in two classes,” McGonagall shook her head. “I would hate for you to do poorly at this school.”

“I was never much for school,” the blond headed for the door, “don’t believe me, just ask Iruka sensei. Bye now.”

He left the office without a backward glance, but he felt the two magic users staring incredulously at his back.


	6. Detentions and Fights

Chapter 6: Detentions and Fights

 

Naruto made his way to the Great Hall. He hated that he’d had to get in trouble like that, not to mention that he gave away vital information to a potential enemy. He sat down at the Gryffindor table and began piling food on his plate, not really paying attention to what he grabbed.

“I’m impressed, Naruto,” a voice said behind him, “getting into trouble already.”

“Leave me alone, Kakashi,” the blond sighed, not looking up at his former sensei.

“What? No excuse for what happened today?” the masked ninja shook his head sadly. “I can actually say I’m surprised at you. I didn’t think you’d want this experience to be like your academy days.”

“It’s not like I wanted to get in trouble,” snapped Naruto. “I had to do it, I do have a job to do.”

“Alright, alright,” Kakashi held up his hands, trying to placate the blond. “I’ll drop it for now, just be a bit more careful.”

“Fine, Kakashi,” blue eyes rolled in frustration.

Naruto ate a few bites and then pushed his plate away from himself, not feeling hungry at all. He waited until he saw Neji and the other shinobi enter the Hall, and then made his excuses and went up to Gryffindor Tower. He sat in the shadows and started thinking about his first day in this wizarding school. So far things weren’t going his way. He had gotten on the wrong side of two teachers in one day, made a fool of himself in his very first class, and that was only the beginning. He was starting to dread this mission.

He had just bowed his head to begin a form of meditation Jiraya had taught him, when he heard the portrait hole open. He glanced up to see Harry, Ron, and Hermione enter. They didn’t see him as they took the three chairs closest to the fire. He listened in on their conversation unashamedly. But something at the end grabbed his attention like nothing else could.

“Don’t start arguing again,” said Harry wearily, as Ron opened his mouth to retaliate. “Can’t we just….”

“You’re right, Harry, we shouldn’t argue,” Hermione shook her head. “Besides, I wanted to discuss something with the two of you before we’re interrupted.”

Both boys looked at her curiously.

“Remember what Moody said on the platform yesterday about those hidden ninja villages?” she asked quietly, causing Naruto to lean in a bit to hear better.

“Yeah, what about them?” said Ron, not seeing the relevance of the conversation.

“Well, I’ve been thinking,” she bit her lip. “What if they actually existed? What if we could make contact with them and gain support for the cause?”

“You heard Moody,” Harry sighed. “They’re basically a myth. No one knows if they actually exist.”

“No one thought the Chamber of Secrets existed either,” retorted Hermione. “Anyway, I went to the library today.”

“Big surprise there,” Ron rolled his eyes.

“Well, I talked to Madam Pince about it, and she said the only thing they had on the subject was in the restricted section,” Hermione gave them each a pointed look. “If I can get the book on it, we might be able to find them.”

“Don’t you think Dumbledore would’ve thought about that already?” said Ron incredulously.

“Not if he thinks it’s a myth,” she sighed in frustration. “Anyway, I’m going tomorrow to check it out, Professor Vector already gave me permission. We’ll know more then.”

Harry sighed, deciding to change the subject, “Let’s just do that homework, get it out of the way….”

Naruto decided it was now safe to make his presence known. He walked over to them and cleared his throat.

“Oh, Naruto, we didn’t see you,” Hermione shook her head.

“I noticed,” he smirked. “Anyway, I was wondering if I could ask you guys a few questions.”

“Sure,” Harry shrugged, remembering how the shinobi had stood up to Umbridge with him.

“Are all the teachers here asses or did I just get lucky on the first day?” he sat down on the floor before the fire.

“You just got lucky,” Ron chuckled. “I tried to warn you this morning.”

“Damn,” Naruto sighed. “I was hoping I was just wrong. Anyway, why do people not believe that Voldemort is back? I mean, yeah, he’s trying to keep out of sight, but if you know where to look you can find him. Shit, I did.”

“About that,” Hermione bit her lip. “How did you meet up with You-Know-Who?”

“Long story,” he shrugged. “But I did see him and I think he’s an ass.”

“Wow, I’ve never heard anyone talk so flippantly about You-Know-Who before,” Ron looked impressed.

“Anyway, another question,” the blond smiled faintly. “Harry, what has the Ministry done to you since you admitted you saw Voldemort return?”

“Well besides encouraging the _Daily Prophet_ to lie about me,” Harry sighed, “they tried to have me expelled before school started. And now Umbridge is here to make my life a living nightmare, I’m sure.”

“Oh, I see,” Naruto nodded. “So can I join you guys in doing some homework, I would wait for Neji but he’s probably got something else to do.”

“Sure,” Harry shrugged.

They collected their schoolbags from a corner and returned to their respective seats. People were coming back from dinner now. Harry kept his face averted from the portrait hole, but could still sense the stares he was attracting.

“Shall we do Snape’s stuff first?” said Ron, dipping his quill into his ink. _“The properties… of moonstone… and its uses… in potion-making…”_ he muttered, writing the words across the top of his parchment as he spoke them. “There.” He underlined the title, then looked up expectantly at Hermione.

“You know,” Naruto threw his quill back in his bag. “I’m not in the mood to do homework, can you guys point me to the kitchen. I need something to eat.”

“We just had dinner,” Hermione shook her head. “Surely you can’t still be hungry.”

“Actually, I didn’t eat,” he shrugged. “And if you can’t tell me how to get to the kitchen, I’ll find my own way, though it could take awhile.”

“Here, Naruto,” Neji threw down a small pouch as he passed the blond.

He opened it revealing a rather nice portion of food and smiled up at the brunet, “Thanks Nej.”

“So what happened in McGonagall’s office?” Neji asked quietly.

“I got detention with Umbridge for a week,” the blond shrugged. “So did Harry. It’s gonna suck, but you know how things work.”

Neji nodded and sat down beside his captain and looked at the other three, “So are you starting on homework?”

Before anyone could answer him, Hermione stood up and crossed the room. She began telling off Fred and George for something that neither Neji nor Naruto cared about at that moment. Shortly thereafter, both Hermione and Harry headed up to their respective beds.

“So Neji,” Naruto began as he finished the food, “wanna help me with my homework? I’ll never finish it on time, or at all, if I don’t get some help.”

“Sometimes I wonder about you, Naruto,” the brunet smirked as he began pulling books out of his own bag.

“So Neji,” Naruto began as he finished the food, “wanna help me with my homework? I’ll never finish it on time, or at all, if I don’t get some help.”

“Sometimes I wonder about you, Naruto,” the brunet smirked as he began pulling books out of his own bag.

They finished all they could of their homework and then headed up to their dormitory.

888888

The next day, Kiba was the first shinobi to wake, aside from Gaara who hadn’t slept, because he had to take Akamaru outside for his morning walk. He wandered around aimlessly for awhile, letting Akamaru do as he pleased, until he spotted the Forbidden Forest and decided to go check it out. He had just entered the tree line when a voice caused him to stop in his tracks.

“The headmaster said students weren’t allowed in here.”

“Well, I just got curious,” Kiba smirked as he faced the person behind him.

“And here I thought that was a cat quality,” the other smirked.

Kiba growled and pounced on the other teen, effectively pinning him to the ground.

“Feeling playful this morning, are we, Kiba?” said Shino, making no attempt to free himself from the dog ninja’s grasp even though the ground was wet from the rain and scattered drops were falling through the canopy of trees.

“Always,” Kiba grinned.

He leaned forward and captured the bug ninja’s lips with his own in a searing kiss, which Shino returned fervently. Shino quickly took control of the kiss, forcing his tongue into the other’s mouth and flipping them so he was now on top.

Kiba moaned slightly, reveling in the feel of his lover’s embrace.

888888 AN: there is no time skip here, it’s the same morning.

The following day dawned just as leaden and rainy as the previous one. The ninja followed their charges down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

“But on the bright side, no Snape today,” said Ron bracingly.

The shinobi had no clue what he was referring to but kept that to themselves as they ate and reviewed their schedules for the day. It appeared that they all had the same classes today.

Double Charms was succeeded by double Transfiguration. Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall both spent the first fifteen minutes of their lessons lecturing the class on the importance of O.W.L.s.

“What you must remember,” said little Professor Flitwick squeakily, perched as ever on a pile of books so that he could see over the top of his desk, “is that these examinations may influence your futures for many years to come! If you have not already given serious thought to your careers, now is the time to do so.”

This caused all the shinobi to smirk, as they already had the careers they wanted, or close enough.

“And in the meantime, I’m afraid, we shall be working harder than ever to ensure that you all do yourselves justice!”

They then spent more than an hour reviewing Summoning Charms, which according to Professor Flitwick were bound to come up in their O.W.L.

“Can you believe these people summon things with this tiny little stick?” Naruto whispered to Temari, who he was working with today.

“I can’t see how they could summon any animals though, without signing the contract,” she whispered back. “And without the use of seals this is going to be difficult.”

“I know,” he shook his head.

“Try focusing your chakra through the ‘wand’,” Neji suggested quietly. “To explain it best, it is similar to what I do with my Gentle Fist, just force chakra through the wood and attach it to the thing you want to summon to you. And of course say the words required, just to make it look convincing.”

“And what are you three muttering about over here?” Flitwick asked, coming over to the three shinobi.

“Nothing important, sir,” Neji bowed his head respectfully and flicked his wand toward the pillows they were summoning. _“Accio.”_

He caught the pillow deftly with his other hand and handed it to the diminutive professor.

“Very impressive,” Flitwick squeaked.

Neji just shrugged and went back to the task at hand.

Flitwick rounded off the lesson by setting them their largest amount of Charms homework ever.

It was the same, if not worse, in Transfiguration.

“You cannot pass an O.W.L.,” said Professor McGonagall grimly, “without serious application, practice, and study. I see no reason why everybody in this class should not achieve an O.W.L. in Transfiguration as long as they put in the work.” Neville made a sad little disbelieving noise. “Yes, you too, Longbottom,” said Professor McGonagall. “There is nothing wrong with your work except lack of confidence. So… today we are starting Vanishing Spells. These are easier than Conjuring Spells, which you would not usually attempt until N.E.W.T. level, but they are still among the most difficult magic you will be tested on in your O.W.L.”

She was quite right; Harry found the Vanishing Spell horribly difficult. By the end of a double period, neither he nor Ron had managed to vanish the snails on which they were practicing, though Ron said hopefully that he thought his looked a bit paler. They were happy to note that most of the shinobi, who had seemed quite adept in their other classes, were also having some difficulty. Hermione, on the other hand, successfully vanished her snail on the third attempt, earning her a ten-point bonus for Gryffindor from Professor McGonagall.

“Excuse me, Uzumaki,” she said as she passed his table. “Do you find this lesson to be a waste of your time, or do you simply not understand the concept of the spell?”

“Huh?” he looked at her confused.

“You have sat here for the past half an hour and done nothing,” her lips thinned dangerously.

“Well, yeah,” he shook his head. “Of course I’ve had nothing to do for half an hour, I completed the task.”

“I beg your pardon?” half the class was now looking at the blond shinobi.

“Yeah, as soon as you gave us the damn slug, I ‘Vanished’ it,” Naruto rolled his eyes. “It wasn’t that difficult. Of course, having to get rid of evidence all the time does help with that. And that thing was so small it only took about a minute.”

“Prove it,” McGonagall grabbed another snail and placed it in front of the blond.

He glanced at it for a moment and then flicked his wand. The snail disappeared in an instant. From his right, Neji smirked at the cockiness of his captain.

‘Of course Naruto would get this spell,’ he thought humorously. ‘As squad leader he is in charge of disposing of any trace of our existence in an area.’

“That, Uzumaki, is the best Vanishing Spell I have ever seen,” she gave him a half smile. “Take ten points for Gryffindor. I am glad to see that you learned your lesson yesterday and have started applying yourself to your studies.”

Naruto just shrugged. He and Hermione were the only people not given homework; everybody else was told to practice the spell overnight, ready for a fresh attempt on their snails the following afternoon.

Now panicking slightly about the amount of homework they had to do, Harry and Ron spent their lunch hour in the library looking up the uses of moonstones in potion-making. Naruto and Neji worked at a nearby table on Flitwick’s homework, while Gaara sat at another table with his arms crossed just staring at the two wizards.

Still angry about Ron’s slur on her woolly hats, Hermione did not join them. She came into the library but didn’t stop to talk with Ron or Hermione as she made her way to the librarian’s desk and handed Madam Pince a note. Temari sauntered in and sat with her brother.

“We have a problem,” she said quietly, Gaara cocked his head slightly to show he was listening. “Hermione is digging into the Hidden Ninja Community. She just came here to retrieve the only book the library has on the subject. If she figures out what we are, the mission is compromised.”

“No, it won’t be,” the Kazekage shook his head a fraction of an inch, his eyes never leaving Ron. “Any reports this wizarding community has on us will be incomplete at best. It is the ninja way.”

“Of course,” the blonde kunoichi nodded and made to get up as Hermione left the library, slipping the scroll into her backpack as she went.

By the time they reached Care of Magical Creatures in the afternoon, Harry’s head was aching again.

The day had become cool and breezy, and, as they walked down the sloping lawn toward Hagrid’s cabin on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, they felt the occasional drop of rain on their faces. Professor Grubbly-Plank stood waiting for the class some ten yards from Hagrid’s front door, a long trestle table in front of her laden with many twigs. As Harry, Ron, and the shinobi reached her, a loud shout of laughter sounded behind them; turning, they saw Draco Malfoy striding toward them, surrounded by his usual gang of Slytherin cronies. He had clearly just said something highly amusing, because Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy Parkinson, and the rest continued to snigger heartily as they gathered around the trestle table. Judging by the fact that all of them kept looking over at Harry, he and the shinobi were able to guess the subject of the joke without too much difficulty.

“Everyone here?” barked Professor Grubbly-Plank, once all the Slytherins and Gryffindors had arrived. “Let’s crack on then—who can tell me what these things are called?”

She indicated the heap of twigs in front of her. Hermione’s hand shot into the air. Behind her back, Malfoy did a buck-toothed imitation of her jumping up and down in eagerness to answer a question, which caused Sakura to crack her knuckles menacingly. Pansy Parkinson gave a shriek of laughter that turned almost at once into a scream, as the twigs on the table leapt into the air and revealed themselves to be what looked like tiny pixieish creatures made of wood, each with knobbly brown arms and legs, two twiglike fingers at the end of each hand, and a funny, flat barklike face in which a pair of beetle-brown eyes glittered.

“Oooooh!” said Parvati and Lavender, thoroughly irritating Harry.

“Kindly keep your voices down, girls!” said Professor Grubbly-Plank sharply, scattering a handful of what looked like brown rice among the stick-creatures, who immediately fell upon the food, which caused Shino to cringe slightly and close his eyes. “So—anyone know the names of these creatures? Miss Granger?”

“Bowtruckles,” said Hermione. “They’re tree-guardians, usually live in wand-trees.”

“Five points to Gryffindor,” said Professor Grubbly-Plank. “Yes, these are bowtruckles and, as Miss Granger rightly says, they generally live in trees whose wood is of wand quality. Anybody know what they eat?”

“Wood lice,” said Hermione promptly, which explained why what Harry had taken for grains of brown rice were moving. “But fairy eggs if they can get them.”

“Good girl, take another five points. So whenever you need leaves or wood from a tree in which a bowtruckle lodges, it is wise to have a gift of wood lice ready to distract or placate it. They may not look dangerous, but if angered they will gouge out human eyes with their fingers, which, as you can see, are very sharp and not at all desirable near the eyeballs. So if you’d like to gather closer, take a few wood lice and a bowtruckle—I have enough here for one between three—you can study them more closely. I want a sketch from each of you with all body parts labeled by the end of the lesson.”

The class surged forward around the trestle table. The shinobi decided to make their groups before going after one of the strange little creatures on the table. Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari formed one group, while Sakura joined Shino and Kiba, leaving Naruto and Neji to find one of the wizards to join them, finally ending up with Neville Longbottom.

Sakura grabbed a bowtruckle for their group as Shino gathered a small amount of wood lice.

“Are you alright, Shino?” the medic asked quietly, once she was sure all the other groups were working and not paying them any heed. “You looked almost sick a moment ago.”

“I’m fine,” he shook his head. “It was the bugs, it hurt my ears.”

“I see,” she nodded in understanding. “We don’t have to feed any to ours, I can bind it with chakra till we’re done.”

“It is the way of things,” he shrugged. “Some things have to die for others to live.”

“Then I’ll grab a headache draught after class to ease the pain,” she smiled slightly.

“Thank you, Sakura,” he nodded, letting the small creatures in his hand free on the ground.

Over at the Sand siblings’ group things were not going well. Kankuro had grabbed a large handful of bugs but even at that the bowtruckle wouldn’t hold still. Finally, Gaara reached out and grabbed it, so the others could do the assignment. The bowtruckle didn’t like that one bit, and tried to sink razor sharp fingers into his hand, which caused his sand to jump into action.

“Mr. Sabaku!” Grubbly-Plank snapped, as the bowtruckle was reduced to splinters. “I said nothing of killing the poor creatures. Five points from Gryffindor, and you will now have detention until you can properly take care of one without killing it.”

Green eyes locked on the professor in an impassive stare. Much could be said for Professor Grubbly-Plank when she didn’t look away or cower from the gaze. The Kazekage nodded slightly and went back to work, copying off his sister’s paper.

When the bell rang, the shinobi followed their charges to the greenhouses. Sakura pulled a small scroll out of her bag and surreptitiously did a few hand signs and pulled it open and a small vial fell into her hand, which she handed to Shino.

To nobody’s surprise, Professor Sprout started their lesson by lecturing them about the importance of O.W.L.s. Then she set them up trimming something or other around the greenhouse. Naruto got in trouble and lost Gryffindor another five points when he tried to trim the Venomous Tentacula instead of what they were actually supposed to be doing.

After class, Naruto followed Harry to the Great Hall to eat before their detention with Umbridge. Harry was stopped by a very angry Angelina Johnson but Naruto didn’t stick around to hear what she had to say as he was exceedingly hungry.

At five to five Harry and Naruto bade the others good-bye and set off for Umbridge’s office on the third floor. When Harry knocked on the door she said, “Come in,” in a sugary voice. He entered cautiously, looking around. Naruto, however, just sauntered in with his hands in his pockets, looking bored.

The surfaces of the office had all been draped in lacy covers and cloths. There were several vases full of dried flowers, each residing on its own doily, and on one of the walls was a collection of ornamental plates, each decorated with a large technicolored kitten wearing a different bow around its neck. These were so foul that Harry stared at them, transfixed, until Professor Umbridge spoke again.

“Good evening, Mr. Potter, Mr. Uzumaki.”

Harry started and looked around. He had not noticed her at first because she was wearing a luridly flowered set of robes that blended only too well with the tablecloth on the desk behind her. He noticed however, that Naruto didn’t look at all surprised.

“Evening,” they said stiffly.

“Well, sit down,” she said, pointing toward two small tables draped in lace beside each and she had drawn up a straight-backed chair. A piece of blank parchment lay on the tables, apparently waiting for them.

Naruto sat down but Harry didn’t. The blond sighed and waited for the idiotic boy and the stupid professor to finish talking so he could get finished with whatever they were supposed to be doing in this damned detention. Finally, Harry looked away from her, dropped his schoolbag beside his straight-backed chair, and sat down.

“There,” said Umbridge sweetly, “we’re getting better at controlling our temper already, aren’t we? Now, you are going to be doing some lines for me, Mr. Potter, Mr. Uzumaki. No, not with your quill,” she added, as Harry bent down to open his bag. “You’re going to be using a rather special one of mine. Here you are.”

She handed them each a long, thin black quill with an unusually sharp point.

“I want you to write _‘I must not tell lies,’_ ” she told them softly.

“How many times?” Harry asked, with a creditable imitation of politeness.

“Oh, as long as it takes for the message to _sink in_ ,” said Umbridge sweetly. “Off you go.”

She moved over to her desk, sat down, and bent over a stack of parchment that looked like essays for marking. Harry raised the sharp black quill and then realized what was missing.

“You haven’t given us any ink,” he said.

“Oh, you won’t need ink,” said Professor Umbridge with the merest suggestion of a laugh in her voice.

 **“You understand what she’s saying, right, kit?”** Kyuubi asked.

‘Yeah, I get it, I can smell the blood on the quill,’ he sighed audibly as he set the quill to the parchment. ‘I get to use my own blood for this stupid detention. Hey, Kyu, wanna have a bit of fun with this stupid toad?’

 **“Way ahead of you, kit,”** the fox gave a huge grin and focused his chakra into Naruto’s right hand.

The blond ANBU was used to pain, and the quill was nothing compared to cutting his own hand open with a kunai, so he just shrugged it off. He almost chuckled, however, when Harry let out a gasp of pain, this boy was so weak if that hurt him, though he had to commend him when he refused to tell Umbridge that he was in pain from her stupid quill.

‘Hey, Kyu, what do you think of the school so far?’ Naruto asked bored, his hand continued to scratch out the lines he was supposed to be writing.

 **“It’s nothing like I thought it would be,”** the fox replied thoughtfully. **“I mean I’ve always known about magic, but the way these wizards use it is quite impressive.”**

‘Yeah, I agree,’ the blond sighed inwardly. ‘I thought that I wouldn’t learn anything this year, but if nothing else I’m learning better chakra control. I just wish I could use hand signs instead of the stupid stick Dumbledore gave us, it’s so troublesome.’

 **“You’ve been spending way too much time with Shikamaru, kit,”** Kyuubi chuckled.

‘That I can’t help, and you know it,’ Naruto rolled his eyes.

“Come here,” Umbridge interrupted their conversation.

He and Harry stood up and approached the desk with the toadlike woman sitting behind it.

“Hands,” she said.

They each extended their right hands. She took Harry’s in her own first.

“Tut, tut, I don’t seem to have made much of an impression yet,” she said smiling, and then took Naruto’s hand and scowled as it looked the same as it always had. “Well, we’ll just have to try again tomorrow evening, won’t we? You may go.”

They left her office without a word. The school was quite deserted; it was surely past midnight. They walked slowly up the corridor.

“Can you believe her?” Harry grumbled, rubbing the back of his hand.

“It wasn’t that bad,” Naruto rolled his eyes.

Harry gave him an incredulous look, “I just wish everyone would leave me alone. I mean this is so stupid, writing lines cause she doesn’t want to see the truth. I hate it that everyone keeps talking about me behind my back.”

This pushed Naruto over the edge, “Listen punk, I don’t want to hear about your petty little woes, okay? So what if a few people talk about you behind your back? Try having an entire village shun you since the day you were born, just cause the leader of your village decided he would make you the ‘savior’ of the village. Be glad that most people revere you as a hero, I was supposed to be, but instead I was cast out, rocks thrown at me, parents would usher their kids away from me, and that’s nothing compared to the whispers that followed me around most everywhere. I didn’t even know why until I was twelve years old. And you know what, my live was peachy compared to Gaara’s. If you can beat his story, then you can come whining to me.”

Once he was finished he stalked off, leaving a stunned Harry in his wake.

888888

The rest of the week passed by slowly for Naruto, but finally Friday came and that meant the last of his detentions. He, unlike Harry, had managed to keep up with all his homework, thanks to Neji of course.

He noticed something odd happen to Harry at the end of detention on Friday, but decided not to press the boy for answers. In truth, they hadn’t talked since the blond had blown up after their first detention. But Naruto wasn’t going to be the one to break the silence, he was too proud for that. Fuck, he’d managed to not talk to Sasuke for days when they were mad at each other.

As they left Umbridge’s office, Neji was waiting for them outside. The brunet eyed the pair curiously, and raised an eyebrow in question to his captain, who shook his head, signaling he didn’t want to talk about it.

“Naruto, I wondered if you might accompany me, I have to go to the dungeons to retrieve my Potions book,” Neji invented, hoping to get the blond alone for a moment to talk.

Naruto gave a pointed look at Harry, but Neji just shrugged. “Sure, why not,” he finally gave in and let the wizard get further away from them.

“He’ll be fine,” Neji reassured him as they turned and headed in the opposite direction. “He will head straight for the common room, and I’ve already told Shino to keep an eye on him for us. We need to talk.”

“What about, Nej?” the blond asked curiously.

“First off, why are you and Harry not speaking to one another?”

“He really pissed me off after our first detention,” Naruto sighed. “He was complaining about how hard it’s been for him this year.”

“Well, from his perspective it has been difficult,” Neji pointed out logically.

“That doesn’t mean I want to hear about it, Nej!” he threw up his hands in frustration.

“I know,” the brunet laid a comforting hand on the blond’s shoulder. “I was just trying to point out that Harry isn’t like you.”

“Was that all, Nej?” Naruto asked in annoyance. “Cause if it was, then you’re wasting my time.”

“No, it wasn’t all,” Neji continued on as if his captain’s ire didn’t bother him at all. “I also wondered what you had planned for our first training session, as the weekend is upon us.”

“I don’t know,” the blond shrugged. “I figured we’d find someplace secluded, one where hopefully no one would bother looking for us, and we’d all just figure out our own training regimes again. And if anyone wants to spar, that’s okay too, just as long as no one gets seriously hurt, cause that would cause problems.”

“I see your…” the brunet cut off suddenly. “Someone’s coming.”

Blue eyes met silver, the former pleading with the other for a solution as to how they could avoid a confrontation with whoever it was. The look was too much for poor Neji. Without thinking, he reached out, grabbed Naruto’s shoulders, and pinned him against the wall, capturing the blond’s lips with his own. Naruto’s eyes went wide for a moment and then slowly drifted closed as he returned the kiss, his hands snaking their way into Neji’s long mane of hair.

 **“Way to go, kit,”** Kyuubi chuckled.

“What the hell!” a voice snarled behind them.

Neji pulled slowly away from his captain and turned to the pale blond who had instigated this moment in the first place, mentally berating himself for his impulsiveness. Naruto, on the other hand, was slightly dazed from the affect Neji had on him, and the mental images Kyuubi kept sending him.

“What do you want, Malfoy?” the brunet asked calmly, as if he hadn’t just been caught in a compromising position with his superior.

“I was just going to get a snack from the kitchen,” replied the Slytherin, “but I think I just lost my appetite. Damn queers.”

“What did you way?” Naruto snapped out of his daze and glared at the other blond.

“Come, Naruto,” Neji grabbed his hand and began dragging him away before he injured the wizard. “You should get to bed. It has been a long day for you.”

“Yeah, go put your boyfriend to bed,” sneered Malfoy. “I’m sure he’d get lost trying to find his own way back to your dormitory anyway.”

Naruto lunged, but he wasn’t quick enough, Neji reached the Slytherin first. He grabbed him by the front of his robes and lifted him off his feet.

“I would suggest that you keep your comments to yourself, boy, or I’ll give you a lesson you’ll not soon forget.”

Malfoy’s pale eyes showed fear and Neji smirked, releasing him. The wizard turned and ran back the way he had come, leaving the two shinobi alone. They didn’t speak or even look at each other the whole way up to Gryffindor Tower, but both knew that something had changed between them, whether good or bad, they would have to wait and see.

888888

Up in the common room, Harry had just sat down with Hermione, ignoring the party around him, anxious to tell her about what happened in Umbridge’s office.

“Listen, Hermione, I was just up in Umbridge’s office and she touched my arm…”

Hermione listened closely. When Harry had finished she said slowly, “You’re worried that You-Know-Who’s controlling her like he controlled Quirrell?”

“Well,” said Harry, dropping his voice, “it’s a possibility, isn’t it?”

“I suppose so,” said Hermione, though she sounded unconvinced. “But I don’t think he can be _possessing_ her the way he possessed Quirrell, I mean, he’s properly alive again now, isn’t he, he’s got his own body, he wouldn’t need to share someone else’s. He could have her under the Imperius Curse, I suppose….”

Harry watched Fred, George, Kiba, and Lee Jordan juggling empty butterbeer bottles for a moment. Then Hermione said, “But last year your scar hurt when nobody was touching you, and didn’t Dumbledore say it had to do with what You-Know-Who was feeling at the time? I mean, maybe this hasn’t got anything to do with Umbridge at all, maybe it’s just coincidence it happened while you were with her?”

“She’s evil,” said Harry flatly. “Twisted.”

“She’s horrible, yes, but… Harry, I think you ought to tell Dumbledore your scar hurt.”

It was the second time in two days he had been advised to go to Dumbledore and his answer to Hermione was just the same as his answer to Ron.

“I’m not bothering him with this. Like you just said, it’s not a big deal. It’s been hurting on and off all summer—it was just a bit worse tonight, that’s all—”

“Harry, I’m sure Dumbledore would _want_ to be bothered by this—”

“Yeah,” said Harry, before he could stop himself, “that’s the only bit of me Dumbledore cares about, isn’t it, my scar?”

“Don’t say that, it’s not true!”

“I think I’ll write and tell Sirius about it, see what he thinks—”

“Harry, you can’t put something like that in a letter!” said Hermione, looking alarmed. “Don’t you remember, Moody told us to be careful what we put in writing! We just can’t guarantee owls aren’t being intercepted anymore!”

“All right, all right, I won’t tell him, then!” said Harry irritably.

“On a lighter note,” Hermione changed the subject, “I got that scroll from the library the other day, and I’ve been reading it. I have to admit it’s a bit vague.”

“What are you going on about now?” Harry sighed.

“The hidden ninja,” she rolled her eyes in annoyance at him not keeping up. “Anyway, I think there might be some form of concealing charm on the scroll. It keeps skipping things and it only shows the names of people who are reported dead. It’s frustrating, and I’ve tried several spells to see if I could remove whatever is keeping me from reading it all, but it doesn’t work. But I’ve found out quite a bit of interesting facts. Like the fact that there are five main villages, and they are led by what is known as a kage, which is the highest ranking ninja. Then there are six smaller villages.”

“As interesting as this is,” Harry got to his feet. “I’m going to bed. Tell Ron for me, will you?”

 


	7. Gaara's Wisdom

Chapter 7: Gaara’s Wisdom

 

After reaching the tower, Naruto headed to his bed. He drew the curtains to avoid being interrupted and practically threw himself down on the soft mattress.

‘What was that about?’ he beat his fist into his pillow.

 **“What do you think it was, kit?”** Kyuubi chuckled. **“Neji kissed you, and you liked it, admit it.”**

‘No one asked for your opinion, stupid fox.’

 **“When has that mattered before?”** the fox countered.

‘True,’ Naruto grumbled. ‘So what am I supposed to do now?’

 **“Well,”** Kyuubi’s voice turned mischievous, **“you could always go over and do it again.”**

‘It was a diversionary tactic,’ the blond sighed. ‘He didn’t mean anything by it, as you could tell by his reaction to Malfoy when he called us boyfriends.’

**“You keep telling yourself that, kit.”**

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ he asked confused.

 **“Look underneath the underneath,”** Kyuubi cooed, curling up for sleep.

‘Have you been spending time with Kakashi again?’

 **“Only when you do, kit,”** the fox yawned hugely and closed his eyes.

‘Hey Kyu?’ Naruto yawned.

 **“What, kit?”** he asked sleepily.

‘Move over,’ the blond crawled through the bars and curled up next to the demon.

The fox smirked as he wrapped his long tails around his kit protectively.

888888

Not wanting to make his captain more uncomfortable than he probably already was, Neji waited in the common room till he was sure Naruto would be asleep, and then made his way up the stairs. He tried to avoid his fellow shinobi as they were sure to ask him what was wrong with the blond, and he managed quite nicely until Kiba cornered him as he was preparing for bed.

“Hey, Nej,” the dog ninja said quietly, “what’s up with Naruto? He didn’t even stay for the party downstairs.”

“How should I know?” the pale eyed teen snapped. “I’m not his keeper.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” Kiba chuckled, leaning against Neji’s bedpost. “Shit, you know more about what he does than Shikamaru, and he fucking lives with him. Did something happen in detention? I mean Harry looked upset, did they get into a fight?”

“They fought at the beginning of the week,” Neji shrugged. “From what I know they haven’t spoken to one another since.”

“Okay,” Kiba nodded. “Did you two have a fight?”

Neji turned and glared at the dog lover, “No.”

“Don’t think that glare will work on me,” the other shook his head. “I’m dating Shino, not to mention I have to put up with Hiashi every time I go see Hinata.”

Without lowering his glare, Neji pulled the curtains on his bed and disappeared from view.

“If you need to talk, Nej, we’re here for you ya know,” Kiba sighed and left the room.

As soon as he heard the door click, Neji lay on his back and looked up at the curtains, his hands folded behind his head. He didn’t want to talk with anyone at the moment, or at least no one but Naruto. He wanted to explain what happened, but could he?

‘What was I thinking?’ Neji berated himself. ‘I kissed him. I kissed Naruto, my friend, my captain, the future Hokage! He’s going to hate me now.’

 _‘But he kissed back,’_ his mind countered.

‘That doesn’t mean anything, he was just playing along,’ the brunet sighed. ‘It could’ve been anyone that was coming toward us, for all we knew it could’ve been a teacher, and we couldn’t get in trouble for wandering around at night. And then that look in his eyes… No, don’t think about that. He looked so utterly helpless, so vulnerable, so… Stop it!’

With a determined move, he sat up. He couldn’t just sit here, or he’d do something else he would regret. He activated his Byakugan and quickly scanned the room, making sure no one had entered while he’d been distracted. When he saw no one, he got up and dressed in his training clothes. He then made his way over to the window and out of the tower.

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Draco Malfoy sat in the Slytherin common room late into the night, long after everyone else had gone to bed, even his two faithful cronies. He couldn’t stop thinking about what he had seen between the two new students. True, he knew that some guys ended up together in a romantic relationship, he’d just never seen it so obvious before. And strangely enough, it didn’t bother him at all. Well that wasn’t true, every time he replayed the scene in his head he felt a tightening in his groin. And the look he’d seen in the blond’s eyes afterward… Damn, he wanted to elicit that response from someone.

The Slytherin had always assumed he’d end up with one of the girls from his house, like Pansy Parkinson, who was practically throwing herself at his feet at every turn. But he’d never had this sensation around any of them before. He began going through all the Slytherin girls in his head, picturing the blond’s response on each of their faces, but it did nothing for him. Then he started on some of the guys he knew, just to see if he could get any reaction from his body. To his surprise it worked, on certain people. He had to face the facts: He, Draco Malfoy, was gay. Not that he’d ever tell a soul about it though.

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Harry was the first to awake in his dormitory next morning. He lay for a moment watching dust swirl in the chink of sunlight falling through the gap in his four-poster’s hangings and savored the thought that it was Saturday. The first week of term seemed to have dragged on forever, like one gigantic History of Magic lesson.

Judging by the sleepy silence and the freshly minted look of that beam of sunlight, it was just after daybreak. He pulled open the curtains around his bed, got up, and started to dress. The only sound apart from the distant twittering of birds was the slow, deep breathing of his fellow Gryffindors. He opened his schoolbag carefully, pulled out parchment and quill and headed out of the dormitory for the common room.

Making straight for his favorite squashy armchair beside the now extinct fire, Harry settled himself down comfortably and unrolled his parchment while looking around the room. The detritus of crumpled-up bits of parchment, old Gobstones, empty ingredient jars, and candy wrappers that usually covered the common room at the end of each day was gone, as were all Hermione’s elf hats. Wondering vaguely how many elves had now been set free whether they wanted to be or not, Harry uncorked his ink bottle, dipped his quill into it, and then held it suspended an inch above the smooth yellowish surface of his parchment, thinking hard…. But after a minute or so he found himself staring into the empty grate, at a complete loss for what to say.

“Difficulties, Potter?” a calm voice came from behind him.

Harry whirled around in his seat and spotted the person standing just inside the window, a huge, strange shaped thing strapped to his back. The glare of the sun, made it almost impossible to distinguish who it was. The figure shifted slightly, causing the thing on his back to cast his face into shadow, revealing his features to the wizard, right down to the dark rings around his pale green eyes and the red tattoo on his forehead.

“Gaara, what are you doing down here?” the wizard asked incredulously.

“This is where I spend most of my nights,” the Kazekage shrugged. “At least until that thing shows up to clean and then I go to the room.”

“So you really don’t sleep do you?” Harry said more to himself than to the other.

Gaara just shook his head. He walked over to where the wizard was seated and removed the gourd from his back, leaning it against the wall next to him. He turned his impassive stare on Harry, who shrank back in his chair slightly at the scrutiny.

He worked up his courage and said, “Hey Gaara, can I ask you a few questions?”

The redhead nodded almost imperceptibly as he took a seat next to Harry.

“Well, after our first detention, Naruto said something to me, well he kind of yelled it actually,” Harry began.

“You got Naruto to yell at you?” a nonexistent brow rose in surprise. “Seeing as you don’t know Uchiha, I’d say you were complaining about the difficulties of your life. Am I correct?”

“How did you know?” the wizard looked at him in shock.

“There are only two reasons Naruto yells at someone,” Gaara shrugged, “if they slander one of his friends or his beliefs, or think they have problems bigger than they actually do. Your beliefs are very similar to his, you don’t know all his friends and the ones you know you like, and that leaves only one choice.”

“So you know him pretty well?” Harry asked.

“He was my first friend,” his lip began twitching in the semblance of a smile, “after I was on the receiving end of one of his yelling sprees.”

“Anyway,” the brunet shook his head, “he said that if I could beat your story, then he’d listen to my complaints. I don’t even think I could beat his, but then again, I don’t think I got the whole story.”

“You never will,” Gaara sighed. “But I suppose you want a part of mine?”

“If you don’t mind,” Harry bit his lip expectantly.

“Very well,” the Kazekage settled back in his chair and steepled his hands in front of him. “All my life people hated me, called me a monster, when I discovered why, I lived with my uncle because my father didn’t want me.”

“Why?” Harry interrupted, not understanding how any parent couldn’t want their child.

“He blamed me for my mother’s death,” jade eyes closed as he continued. “I believe I was five when I asked my uncle why things were like that. He told me it didn’t matter what others said, he loved me, my mother loved me, and that was all that mattered. He lied. That same night he tried to kill me, on my father’s orders. He told me he hated me and everyone blamed me for my mother’s death, and that she didn’t love me, she hated me too. He blew himself up by trying to kill me. That night I decided I lived only for myself, I loved only myself.” His hand raised and traced the tattoo on his forehead. “The assassination attempts continued for several years, until my father lost so many men decided I would be better off as a weapon. That was my life until I met Naruto and things changed.”

“Damn,” Harry swore quietly, marveling at how the redhead could talk so calmly about something like that. “He was right, I have no reason to complain. At least all they’re doing is talking trash about me. Kankuro was right.”

“Everyone has the right to complain,” Gaara cocked his head to the side. “Just realize your woes may pale in comparison to others and that you are not the only one out there who has suffered. Naruto is a great man, he hates to see others suffer, and while his life may not have been easy, he managed to not end up like me. Do you know why, Potter?”

“No,” he shook his head.

“He had people who cared about him, friends,” a ghost of a smile graced the pale features of the Kazekage. “Keep your friends close Harry, for they can save you from a life of misery.”

“Wow, thanks Gaara,” Harry chuckled slightly. “I agree with you, my friends have made my life so much better than it was before I started school. It’s not such a lovely place anymore, and for that I’m grateful. Thanks for talking with me, Gaara.”

The wizard reached out to grasp the redhead’s hand, but he withdrew it before that happened.

“No, I will not hurt you, Harry Potter,” he stood up and grabbed the strap of his gourd. “Thank you, Harry Potter, for taking the time and asking me, I would be happy to consider you one of my friends.”

Without a backward glance, he headed up the stairs to the dormitory. Harry sat quite motionless for a while, gazing into the fireplace, contemplating the redhead’s words, then finally coming to a decision, he dipped his quill into the ink bottle once more and set it resolutely upon the parchment.

888888

“Morning,” Harry said brightly to Ron, Hermione, and the shinobi, joining them at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall.

The ninja waved at him vaguely in response but continued talking as if he hadn’t just interrupted them.

“So Shino, do you have everything set for today?” the blond ANBU asked, looking at the bug shinobi.

“Yes, captain,” Shino nodded.

“Good,” Naruto smiled. “Dumbledore has assured me that he feels the weekends not spent in Hogsmeade are ours for the taking, but I still plan on keeping tabs on our charges. Now does anyone have any suggestions as to where we should train for the day?”

“What about the forest?” Kankuro suggested. “Dumbledore basically gave us permission to use it, as students aren’t allowed in there.”

“It doesn’t look all that imposing, honestly,” Kiba shrugged, blushing slightly. “But then again I just barely made it into the trees. But if we go far enough in, we should be able to use our jutsus without bringing suspicion.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” Naruto rubbed his hands together. “Before we go off and train, how is everyone keeping up on their homework?”

“Shouldn’t we be asking you that question, Naruto?” Sakura rolled her eyes.

“Naw, thanks to Neji,” he blushed faintly as he said his lieutenant’s name, but no one seemed to notice, “I’ve managed to keep up.”

“I’ve had Shino on my back about me keeping up,” Kiba grinned.

Everyone else indicated that they had in fact been keeping up with their studies.

“So, guys,” Hermione interrupted their private conversation, “what are you going to do today?”

“I think we’re going to explore the grounds today,” Naruto answered nonchalantly. “We haven’t actually got to see them all yet.”

“Just don’t go into the forest,” the witch admonished quietly. “It’s full of all sorts of dangerous things.”

“Yeah,” Ron leaned over her to address the ninja, “like giant spiders.”

“We’ll keep that in mind,” blue eyes rolled as he shared a look with his companions. “What about you, what are you three doing today?”

“Harry and I have Quidditch practice later,” Ron shrugged, “and I have no idea what Hermione’s going to do.”

“I’m planning on spending time in the library,” she sighed in annoyance at Ron. “I’m trying to figure out some information on something I feel is important. Hey, maybe you guys could help me?” she looked at them hopefully.

“What would you like help with?” asked Neji, hoping that if it was something he could do he would get out of training for the day. Not that he didn’t want to train, he just needed some distance between himself and his blond captain.

“Well,” she leaned in and motioned the shinobi closer, “I’ve been trying to discover more information on the hidden ninja communities. They are supposedly located in a remote area of Japan, maybe you guys have heard something about them? The five main villages are Konoha, Suna, Iwa, Kiri, and Kumo. The scroll I got from the library is terribly vague.”

“Leaf, Sand, Rock, Mist, and Cloud, hmm? Sorry, we can’t help you,” Gaara said firmly, causing all the shinobi to lean back with blank faces, which caused the witch’s eyes to narrow suspiciously.

After breakfast the shinobi left the Great Hall and made their way to the Forbidden Forest, stealthily of course. Once they deemed they were far enough away from prying eyes, they paired off. Kiba and Shino were of course the first two paired together as they had always trained together, having been on the same team since they became genin. Temari decided to give Kankuro a break and train with him, so he didn’t have to face their younger brother in combat, mock or not. Sakura looked between the three remaining boys and decided her best bet would be Neji, as the other two were practically powerhouses, which left Naruto to spar with Gaara, not that either of them minded in the least. Naruto was actually glad that he wasn’t sparring with his long haired lieutenant.

They had been training for almost an hour when Neji spotted something with his Byakugan. He motioned for Sakura to halt their spar and turned to the Kazekage and his captain.

“Something approaches,” he said, no trace of emotion in his voice as he met the blue eyes of the demon vessel for the first time that day.

“Well, what is it?” Naruto asked, sending two kunai out to halt the other spars in the clearing.

“I’m not sure,” the brunet shook his head.

“To the trees,” Gaara tossed his head in the direction of the treetops.

Without another word, all eight of them were concealed among the foliage. A moment later, Neji’s something appeared. Was it a horse, or a man? It looked to be a combination of both, from the waist up it looked like a man with white blond hair, but waist down was the palomino body of a horse.

“Don’t stop on my account,” the creature looked to the trees, smiling vaguely.

Naruto and Gaara dropped from their perches. They stood before the creature, eyeing him warily. The creature looked back at them, his smile never wavering.

“What are you?” the blond asked tactlessly, as usual.

“I am a centaur,” the creature said softly. “You may call me Firenze.”

“Naruto Uzumaki,” he shrugged.

“Gaara.”

“Will your friends not come down and join you?” Firenze asked, tilting his head to the side.

Naruto brought his hand down in a swift slash, and the other six joined them on the forest floor. The blond made the introductions.

“I would warn you foals not to wander this far into the forest,” the centaur shook his head, “but from what I have seen, you are no foals.”

“Foals?” Naruto’s brow scrunched together in confusion.

 **“Foals are young horses, kit,”** Kyuubi filled in helpfully. **“It’s like me calling you kit, only he basically said you weren’t kits.”**

“Of course we’re not,” the blond answered out loud, though the shinobi all recognized the signs of him speaking with his inner demon. “Hell, all of us are legally adults (1).”

“Only where we come from, Naruto,” Sakura reminded him gently.

“You should leave, before others come,” said Firenze suddenly. “My fellow centaurs are not as understanding of humans as I.”

“Thanks Firenze,” Kiba grinned at the horse man, taking a liking to him, “we’ll probably be seeing ya around.”

On their way back to the castle, Naruto slowed his pace and lagged behind the others, hoping to lose them for a bit to think. Unfortunately for him, Gaara noticed his friend’s behavior and matched his pace to fall in step with the blond. Once the others were out of earshot, the redhead turned and studied his companion closely, effectively halting their progress toward the castle.

“Talk to me, Naruto,” the Kazekage commanded quietly, knowing something was on the Leaf ANBU’s mind.

“Promise you won’t laugh,” the blond asked quietly.

“Do I ever?” Gaara countered, lifting a nonexistent brow curiously.

“No, I guess you don’t,” he chuckled softly. “Okay then, honestly, I think Kyu’s making me feel things I shouldn’t.”

“What type of things?” the redhead asked.

“Feelings for another person,” Naruto answered vaguely.

“Impossible,” Gaara shook his head. “I know from experience. Mind telling me who this person is? You know I won’t judge you.”

“Well,” the blond sighed, “something happened last night with Neji.”

Gaara remained silent, waiting for his friends to get to the point in his own time.

“He wanted to talk to me about what was going on with me and Harry, and then he sensed someone coming, and… and he kissed me.”

“I see,” the Kazekage nodded encouragingly. “And Kyuubi?”

“Kyuubi has been rather forward about his feelings for Neji in the past week,” Naruto ran his hand through his hair in frustration. “He’s threatened to do some really embarrassing things to him.”

“Naruto,” Gaara reached out and placed a hand on the blond’s shoulder, “know that no matter what the demon inside you feels toward another, he cannot make you feel anything that is not already there. Trust me, if it had been up to Shukaku I would’ve bedded Kankuro on numerous occasions.”

“Shu liked Kankuro?” he gaped at the former demon vessel.

“Indeed,” the redhead nodded slightly. “But I never acted on it, because I didn’t feel the same. However, if you find your lieutenant to be appealing, I don’t see what the problem is.”

“Of course you wouldn’t,” Naruto chuckled. “Gaara, I can’t just, as you put it, bed Neji. One, I’m not you, and two, I don’t know if he feels the same way. Last night, I froze, I don’t know why he kissed me but he did, but I think he only did it to save us from getting in trouble.”

A smirk graced the pale features of the Kazekage, “Naruto, the fact that he kissed you speaks for itself. You may have froze up, but I have never heard of the formidable Hyuuga prodigy freezing up in the face of a tense situation, he may have acted on impulse, as that reaction is highly unusual, otherwise he would’ve just grabbed you and either transported away or hid. As an ally of your village, I am kept informed of the outcome of all but the most classified of missions (2). You will learn all this when you begin your training.”

“You know I haven’t heard you talk this much in a long time,” Naruto cocked his head to the side, looking at his friend in wonder. “And I’ll keep what you said in mind, though from what I can tell, Neji’s pretty upset about what happened. He won’t even look at me.”

“Hn,” the redhead grunted, choosing not to comment on the latter part of Naruto’s speech. “It seems to be a good day for talking, as Harry got me to talk with him this morning.”

“Oh, he did,” the blond smiled. “I’m glad, I wondered if he would take the time to talk with you, I guess I should forgive him for what he said then. At least he’s not wallowing in self-pity anymore.”

“You have a funny way of teaching lessons, Naruto,” Gaara smirked again.

At that moment they heard arguing coming their way. They turned and saw Ron and Harry coming toward them on their way to the castle, followed by Malfoy and his goons. Malfoy was taunting the Gryffindors and the two shinobi could tell that Potter was about to lose his temper. As if on cue, Harry raised his wand and pointed it directly at the blond wizard, as the Slytherin did the same.

“Time to intervene?” Naruto looked expectantly at the Kazekage, who nodded in agreement.

In a movement that none of the wizards saw, Naruto had grabbed Harry’s wand hand and pointed it to the sky, as Gaara grabbed Malfoy’s and mimicked the motion. The three other wizards looked at the two shinobi, wondering if they should step in and help their respective friends.

“Leave,” the Kazekage snapped, in a tone that demanded obedience.

Ron, Crabbe, and Goyle hastened away with many backward glances, but didn’t want to anger the stoic redhead. Gaara removed Malfoy’s wand from his grasp and held it loosely in his hand. Naruto did the same with Harry.

“Let me go, you freaks,” Malfoy sneered. “Just be grateful, Potty, that these two freaky friends of yours stepped in.”

“I don’t need their help, Malfoy, not against a slimy Slytherin git like you,” Harry snapped back.

“Enough,” Gaara said quietly, but it was enough for the wizards to stop the next words coming from their mouths. “I have no doubt you are both more than capable of demeaning each other. However, this spat ends now. Now kiss and make up.”

“Wh-what?” both wizards looked at him as if he was out of his mind.

Gaara just crossed his arms over his chest, staring them down. Naruto shook his head in disbelief, but knew better than to cross the redhead when he was like this.

“You’d better do it,” Naruto gave Harry a shove forward. “Gaara can get pretty mean when he’s not obeyed.”

The two wizards approached each other slowly, their eyes darting fearfully in Gaara’s direction. As they closed the distance, they seemed more reluctant to follow orders, neither wanting to be the first into action.

“Let’s get this over with, Potter,” Malfoy sneered, pulling Harry forward by his robes and planting his lips against the Gryffindor’s.

They parted after a few moments, both of them rubbing their mouths comically, as if it would help erase what had just happened. Gaara nodded and handed Malfoy his wand back.

“Now get up to the castle, and no more fighting, or you’ll have to do it again,” said the Kazekage in all seriousness.

Naruto handed Harry his wand and both wizards sprinted up to the castle, trying to get away from the crazy redhead behind them. As soon as they were far enough away, Naruto doubled up in a fit of hysterical laughter.

“What was that about?” he choked out, trying to gain control.

Gaara shrugged, “That is how we settle arguments in our house.”

“Really?” the blond sobered immediately. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” the Kazekage’s brow furrowed in thought. “Temari started it after she realized I wouldn’t kill Kankuro during our arguments. It works though, if we are forced to kiss then we don’t fight for several weeks, knowing that if we do we’ll have to relive the experience. It works with all three of us, except when we’re all arguing together then no one tells us to kiss and make up, those arguments can go on for days.”

“That’s too funny,” Naruto started chuckling again. “Anyway, you think those two will not argue for quite some time now?”

“I’m not sure,” he shrugged. “At least if they do, they’ll make sure I’m not around first.”

The two of them made their way up to the castle and joined the others in the Great Hall for lunch.

888888

The rest of that day and the next passed rather uneventfully. The shinobi were hesitant to head back into the forest since Firenze’s warning. Not that they wouldn’t try later, they just didn’t feel like pressing their luck so soon after being caught in the first place.

Apparently, or at least to Naruto, Harry hadn’t mentioned his punishment for arguing with Malfoy in front of Gaara, as his friends weren’t yelling at the Kazekage. Not that the blond minded at all, he was just glad he was there to witness it, that had been funny as hell and had completely taken his mind off his depressing thoughts on his lieutenant.

Neji, however, was still pondering what his next course of action should be. Should he talk with his captain about it or just ignore it as Naruto seemed to be doing. He wasn’t sure if talking would accomplish anything but more awkwardness, but he couldn’t ignore it. So he was left to fret about it on his own.

888888

Later that night, Ron, Harry, and Hermione sat in the common room, the first two still working on their homework. Hermione finally grabbed their essays and began correcting them.

It was now past midnight and the common room was deserted but for the three of them and Crookshanks, or so they thought. None of them noticed the three shinobi sitting on the ceiling above them.

Suddenly Harry slid to the floor in front of the fire. Naruto, Gaara, and Temari watched closely as the three students talked to the head of a man they recognized as Sirius Black. When he finally disappeared, Hermione sat back in her chair, motioning for the two boys to follow suit.

“Have either of you noticed something odd about the transfer students?” she asked quietly.

“Like what, Hermione?” Ron looked at her confused. “I mean they all have something strange about them, don’t they? I mean there’s Neji’s eyes which make him look like he’s blind, and Gaara’s sleep habit or rather lack thereof, Naruto’s weird zoning out and the fact that he’s seen You-Know-Who, Kiba and his dog, Shino, well he’s just weird, Kankuro and his torture thing, I don’t know about the two girls, they seem alright.”

“Sakura and Temari are strange in their own right,” Hermione shook her head. “But no, that’s not what I meant. I meant like yesterday when I asked them about the hidden ninja communities, they all got a strange look on their face when Gaara said they couldn’t help, like he was their leader or something.”

“Gaara’s scary,” Ron shuddered.

“Yeah, even Naruto says so,” Harry shrugged and then barely repressed a shudder. “Do you know what he made me do yesterday?”

“What?” the other two looked at him curiously, while up on the ceiling Naruto quickly covered his mouth to stop his laughter.

“You remember the fight he and Naruto interrupted between me and Malfoy?” he looked at Ron, who nodded. “Well, as soon as you were gone he told us off and then made us kiss to make up.”

Temari’s eyes flew to her younger brother in question.

“You’re not serious, mate?” Ron asked scandalized.

“Yeah, I am,” Harry nodded. “He said ‘Now kiss and make up.’ And he forced us to do it too, with Naruto’s help of course.”

“That’s just sick and wrong, mate, I feel for ya,” Ron made a face.

“He’s used to getting his way,” Hermione said thoughtfully. “I’m going to get to the bottom of this. You know, before this year, Hogwarts has never had a transfer student, never. There’s something strange about that, and the fact that they stayed at Headquarters before coming to school.”

“So are you saying we shouldn’t befriend them?” Harry asked confused. “Cause if it comes right down to it, they support the cause, and believe that Voldemort is back.”

“I’m not saying that at all,” Hermione shook her head. “Quite the opposite in fact, keep them in your confidence, gain their trust and see if you can find anything out about them.”

“You think they might be spies of some sort?” Ron whispered.

“I don’t know,” she sighed. “But there’s definitely something off about them and I want to know what it is.”

 

1\. In any story that I write for Naruto they come of age at fifteen, since the mortality rate of ninja is so high.

2\. I don’t think that’s how it actually works but I’m gonna go with it cause I want to, and since Gaara’s so close to Naruto and owes Konoha a life debt basically.


	8. Face the Facts

Chapter 8: Face the Facts

 

“SHE WHAT?!” Kiba’s voice rang through the almost empty common room on Monday morning.

The shinobi scattered throughout the room, the only people present, looked at him in annoyance.

“Quiet down, Kiba,” Shino admonished, looking to his captain for support.

“Shino’s right, Kib,” Naruto sighed. “We don’t want the whole castle to hear us. Anyway, yeah, Hermione’s getting suspicious of us. She told Harry and Ron to get close to us to see if they could find out anything. But come on, we’re not ninja for nothing. Be careful of your charges as well, if she hasn’t already, she’s sure to rope those three in on her little scheme and with Fred and George on her side it’ll be interesting to say the least.”

“It’s not her fault really,” Neji said quietly. “If you recall, all this came about because of that man, Moody. He’s the one that let it slip about the ninja communities. She is a person devoted to knowledge, of course her curiosity was peeked. We have been a bit lax as well. None of us have given anything away intentionally, but there are things that are said that would cause suspicion; Naruto claiming to have found Voldemort and fought giant snakes that attacked our village, Gaara’s commanding presence, these things do not go overlooked to the trained eye. I have to say, I’m quite surprised she has not asked to see our headbands yet, as we were all wearing them when we first met her, and the village symbols are bound to be in that scroll along with the names.”

“I think we need to bend some rules,” Kankuro sighed, removing the arm that had been draped over his face as he lay on one of the armchairs.

“How so?” Gaara asked, staring at his brother.

“Well, one of us needs to ‘help’ her out with her research,” the puppeteer shrugged. “Maybe we could get Kakashi and Iruka to do it. I mean that would lessen her suspicions and keep her off track enough so our cover’s not blown.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” Neji glanced over at Naruto for confirmation. “Only I think it should be one of us, that way she’ll feel we are trustworthy. Perhaps Sakura?”

“I could give it a try,” the pinkette nodded.

“I don’t think that would be such a good idea,” Shino interrupted. “Sakura is almost as much of a know-it-all as Hermione, she might unintentionally reveal something, trying to prove her superior intellect. It should be an ANBU who helps her, as we are trained in subterfuge.”

“Temari,” Gaara crossed his arms over his chest.

“Very well,” the blonde kunoichi shrugged. “I’ll corner her at some point and offer my help, what little I will offer.”

“Just don’t scare her too much, Temari,” Naruto grinned. “We do want her on our side.”

With that settled they made their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Upon entering they noticed the Golden Trio flipping through the newspaper. The shinobi sat down with them and began eating as if nothing had changed between them, though the three wizarding students all tensed slightly.

“Well, come on,” said Hermione suddenly, or at least it seemed that way to the shinobi as they had just arrived a few moments earlier and hadn’t been paying attention to her, “we’d better get going, if she’s inspecting Binns’s class we don’t want to be late….”

The shinobi hurriedly finished their breakfast and followed the trio to the History of Magic classroom. But Professor Umbridge was not inspecting their History of Magic lesson, which was just as dull as the previous Monday, nor was she in Snape’s dungeon when they arrived for double Potions.

Naruto sat down next to Kankuro once again, but Neji had traded places with Gaara. Apparently he was back to avoiding him whenever possible. This bothered the blond slightly, since he had convinced himself his lieutenant had just used the kiss as a simple evasive maneuver, rather than an actual kiss.

This arrangement didn’t end well for the poor little demon vessel. Halfway through the mixing of his potion, which was supposed to be turning turquoise at this point, his was a very thick brown, a faint hissing filled his ears. Cerulean orbs locked on the frothing contents of his cauldron and he just barely managed to jump out of the way before it exploded in his face. He ended up on the dungeon ceiling, his chakra coated hands and feet supporting him in an awkward angle as he faced the floor, but no one noticed this.

“Uzumaki,” Snape hissed dangerously, coming over to his work table.

Kankuro reached over, dipped his finger in the remaining liquid, and sniffed it. “Damn Naruto, what’re you trying to do? Blow us all to hell and back? That stuff could’ve brought this castle down on top of us if it wasn’t so botched up. Now if you’d taken the powder in its raw form instead of grinding it up, it would’ve made a better explosion, but the real issue is that you added one too many ingredients, you shouldn’t have put in that…”

“Mr. Sabaku,” Snape interrupted his tirade, “that is quite enough. Where is Mr. Uzumaki?”

Kankuro met the professor’s glare and then pointed with two fingers to the ceiling. All eyes flew upward and landed on the blond. Many of the wizarding students gaped openly at him being apparently glued to the ceiling, though Hermione’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Get down from there this instant, Uzumaki,” Snape’s voice dripped venom.

“Is someone gonna catch me?” Naruto looked around nervously, or at least he pretended to. “Cause I really don’t want to hit the floor from this height, it’s pretty hard, I might break my neck.”

 **“As if, kit,”** Kyuubi chuckled. **“But nice save. I didn’t know you could move that fast without my help.”**

‘Ha ha, very funny,’ blue eyes rolled in annoyance.

“I will stop your fall once you let go of the ceiling, Uzumaki,” the greasy professor sighed heavily. “Now let go.”

“So I should try and fall on you then?” the blond asked curiously.

“No, let go,” Snape snapped, drawing his wand out.

“Fine, just don’t let me get hurt,” Naruto pouted, releasing his chakra hold.

As he fell, he had to exercise enormous control so as not to flip and land on his feet. About a foot above the desks, Snape muttered a spell and Naruto felt himself stop, as if he’d reached the end of a string. With the help of Kankuro he was lowered to the floor, where he sat looking sheepishly up at his Potions professor.

“Fifty points from Gryffindor, Uzumaki,” Snape said silkily, “ten for your cheek and the rest for not following instructions and putting the lives of your fellow students in danger.”

“As I said earlier, professor,” Kankuro interrupted, “he botched it so bad the only one he put in danger was himself. It’s not fair for you to take away forty points for something he didn’t do.”

“Ten points for arguing, Sabaku,” Snape turned his gaze on the puppeteer. “And do not act like you know what you are talking about, that was the worst case of potion making I have ever seen, even worse than Longbottom’s usual performances.”

“Well,” Kankuro began, until he caught the glare his brother was sending his way, “sorry Professor Snape, it won’t happen again.”

After Potions let out, the Golden Trio made their way to the Great Hall, while the shinobi hung back, giving Temari the signal that she should take this opportunity to offer her help.

“Hey guys, wait up!” she called, dashing up the stairs behind them.

“Oh, hey, Temari,” Hermione greeted casually, “did you need something?”

“No,” the blonde shook her head. “I actually wanted to offer you my help.”

“Help?” the brunette looked at her confused.

Temari glanced around and nodded to an empty classroom. The trio followed her inside. She closed the door behind them, after making sure no one had noticed them coming into the room.

“Now what is this about, Temari?” Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and began tapping her foot impatiently.

“Well, the other day you asked us for help,” the kunoichi shrugged. “Well, of course, Gaara said no,” she rolled her eyes for effect. “But since when have I ever listened to my younger brother. If you don’t want my help then fine, but I thought I’d throw it out there. Not that I know anything on the subject, but I could help with the pronunciation and stuff and translating some shit, like those names you gave.”

“Can’t we talk about this later,” Ron moaned, rubbing his stomach. “I’m hungry and I’ve got Divination after lunch.”

“You guys can go,” Hermione waved him and Harry off as she took a seat at one of the desks, thinking about putting her plan into action.

“They can stay if they want, I’ve got some food,” Temari shrugged and reached in her backpack, finally pulling out four foam containers. “But if you tell Naruto that I’ve got them, you’re toast.”

Harry sat down, his curiosity on the subject finally piqued. Ron sat down reluctantly and stared at the small container Temari had produced.

“Damn it,” the blonde sighed, “I forgot we need hot water for these.”

“That’s not a problem,” Hermione waved her wand, and a second later a tea kettle and fire appeared before them. “Now, I’ll tell you what I’ve found out.”

“Okay,” Temari grabbed the kettle and poured the now hot water into the foam cups. “You’ve got to wait three minutes before eating it,” she admonished Ron, who had instantly reached for his.

“Well, beside what I told you the other day,” Hermione began. “I’ve discovered that there are six other smaller villages. But the main five are ruled by what is known as a Kage.”

“Ka-ge,” Temari corrected, “it’s two syllables, not one. It means shadow.”

“Anyway, there’s the Hokage of Konoha, the Kazekage of Suna, the Tsuchikage of Iwa, the Mizukage of Kiri, and the Raikage of Kumo,” Hermione began rummaging in her bag for the scroll. “They are the most powerful ninja of their village. The other six villages are ruled by individuals, but only one name was listed, so I’m assuming he’s dead, as that seems to be the only way to get a name printed in this scroll.”

“Oh?” Temari’s brow furrowed in thought, she hadn’t heard of any of the village leaders dying recently.

“What other ranks are there?” Harry asked curiously, thinking he knew some of those names from somewhere.

“There are Genin, the lowest rank, which is right after they graduate from the academy, Chunin, Jounin, Sanin, and then Kage. There have only ever been three Sanin before, according to what I’ve read. There are also specialized Jounin, but they don’t say what that level is called,” Hermione rattled off. “I’ve also discovered that there are what are called S-class criminals and rogue ninja. The criminals are just that, the S classifications means that their crimes are either numerous or really, really terrible, there’s one they mentioned who killed every member of his clan, save for one. Rogue ninja are ninja without villages, or who left their villages. You can tell what village they are from by a symbol they wear.”

“Wow, Hermione,” Ron looked at her amazed. “That’s a lot of information. How do you manage to remember all that and keep up with your homework?”

“How could someone do that in their family?” Harry shook his head, not waiting for Hermione’s response. “I mean yeah, I don’t like the Dursleys but I’d never kill them.”

“Sometimes that type of life can have a very stressful outcome,” Temari sighed, wishing she hadn’t been volunteered for this. “Think about it, you grow up trained to fight and kill. Others around you wouldn’t understand that. Maybe there was a reason he did it, or maybe he just snapped from the pressure, or maybe he was a sadistic bastard, I personally wouldn’t want to ask him his reasoning.”

“I thought Moody said they were magical though?” Ron scratched his chin in though.

“They don’t actually have magic,” Hermione shook her head. “They have what they call chakra. It’s a spiritual energy they use to manipulate the things around them in what they call jutsus. There are three different types of jutsus, ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. Taijutsu is hand-to-hand, physical combat. Genjutsu is an illusion technique. And ninjutsu is basically anything that doesn’t fall into the other two categories. And then there’s what’s called a Kekkei Genkai, which is a family trait, it has to be passed down through genetics in order to use that particular type of jutsu.”

“So these jutsus would be honed and trained till perfected?” asked Temari.

“That’s what I’m assuming,” Hermione shrugged, silently upset that Temari had asked instead of telling, but that could’ve been her cover, she’d just have to trap her with it. “I would personally like to find out more about certain Kekkei Genkai I’ve read about. There are two that involve the eyes, the Sharingan and the Byakugan, the Sharingan apparently allows the person to mimic another’s chakra and reproduce their jutsus, while the Byakugan acts like an x-ray, allowing the person to see chakra flow.”

“That would be an awesome ability,” Ron sniggered and elbowed Harry in the ribs. “So when do they graduate? Seventeen like us?”

“Twelve,” Hermione shook her head. “They can graduate younger, like the one who killed his family, he was only ten when he made Chunin, he became an elite Jounin captain at age thirteen. He was only fourteen when he killed his clan. But they become legal adults at fifteen, meaning they can drink, marry, or live away from their parents at that point.”

“That would be nice,” Temari smirked. “Cause I could use some alcohol right about now.”

“Oh and rank doesn’t go by age either, I mean, it all depends on skill,” Hermione shot the kunoichi a glare. “I mean look at the age difference between some of the Kages, the Hokage is in her fifties, while the Kazekage is only sixteen.”

“That makes him only one year older than us,” Harry shook his head, still thinking he’d heard the title before, it was almost like Nicholas Flamel all over again.

“We need to get to class,” Temari stood suddenly. “You two had better run, it’s almost time for the bell.”

The four of them left the classroom, Temari gathered up the empty ramen cups and discarding them on her way out. They made their way up the stairs, where they met up with Naruto, Neji, Gaara, and Sakura. The three girls split up and headed off to Arithmancy, while the boys went off to Divination. They all sat down and were pulling out their dream diaries when the trapdoor opened, and Professor Umbridge emerged. The class, which had been talking cheerily, fell silent at once. The abrupt fall in the noise level made Professor Trelawney, who had been wafting about handing out _Dream Oracles_ , look around.

“Good afternoon, Professor Trelawney,” said Professor Umbridge with her wide smile. “You received my note, I trust? Giving the time and date of your inspection?”

Professor Trelawney nodded curtly and, looking very disgruntled, turned her back on Professor Umbridge and continued to give out books. Still smiling, Professor Umbridge grasped the back of the nearest armchair and pulled it to the front of the class so that it was a few inches behind Professor Trelawney’s seat. She then sat down, took her clipboard from her flowery bag, and looked up expectantly, waiting for the class to begin.

Professor Trelawney pulled her shawls tight about her with slightly trembling hands and surveyed the class through her hugely magnified lenses. “We shall be continuing our study of prophetic dreams today,” she said in a brave attempt at her usual mystic tones, though her voice shook slightly. “Divide into pairs, please, and interpret each other’s latest nighttime visions with the aid of the _Oracle_.”

Neji moved from his place next to Naruto and quickly maneuvered Kiba over to work with the blond. Kiba just shrugged at the long haired teen’s behavior and grinned at the demon vessel.

“You wanna go first,” he asked with a wide grin. “Cause personally I don’t need a damn book to tell me what my dreams are about.”

“I don’t dream too often,” Naruto replied off handedly. “Kyu seems to think that my mental abilities need honed so he doesn’t let me.”

“Well fine then, you asked for it,” the dog ninja flashed his canines in a cheeky grin. “Last night I dreamed I was lying in bed…”

“Shut up,” the blond shuddered. “I don’t need a damn book to tell me you’re a fucking horn dog.”

Unfortunately for him, both professors heard him. Trelawney was going to ignore him, however, as Umbridge made her way over, she decided to get there first.

“Mr. Uzumaki, may I see your dream diary?” she extended her hand.

“Sure,” Naruto handed the woman his notebook.

She opened it and scanned through the first few pages. “You seem to have this fox in a lot of your dreams,” she said quietly. “That is a very bad omen, my dears. Foxes mean trouble, and the bigger they are the more trouble you shall be in (1).”

“Tell me about it,” he shook his head. “He’s a big pain in the ass.”

“Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr. Uzumaki,” Umbridge said sweetly. “You need to learn to watch your mouth.”

“And may I see yours, dear,” Trelawney’s lips pursed at Umbridge’s interference in her class, holding her hand out to Kiba.

“Yeah,” he grinned and handed over his dream diary.

She went through the same process with his as she had Naruto’s. Only as she continued to skim, her eyes widened and her mouth fell open in shock, as a blush crept up her face.

“I would say from this, Mr. Inuzuka, you have a very unhealthy obsession,” her eyes darted over to where Shino was talking quietly with Neji.

“Nope, it’s not healthy,” Kiba shook his head. “In fact, it’s a proven fact that sex is very healthy for a person.”

This statement caused all eyes to rivet to them. Naruto began to chuckle silently but couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing. The other shinobi shook their heads at their antics, knowing the two very well.

“Detention, Mr. Inuzuka,” Professor Umbridge cooed. “I will not have you mocking another teacher’s class in front of me.”

As soon as they moved on, Kiba leaned over and clapped his captain on the shoulder, “Damn that was too funny. Oh, by the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you, what’s up with Neji? He’s been acting odd the past few days.”

“I don’t know,” the blond shook his head. “But I’m gonna talk to him later today and find out, cause it’s really bugging me.”

In Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry landed himself in another detention, but this time Naruto didn’t interfere and land himself in detention with him. He didn’t need that frustration at this point, not with Neji’s attitude on his mind, he’d just have to conceal himself outside Umbridge’s office and wait for Harry to get out.

888888

Unfortunately for Naruto, his opportunity to speak with Neji didn’t arrive until the next evening. He finally cornered the brunet as he was about to go wait for Harry to be through with detention, so he dragged him along. They stood in silence for a good hour, a good ways down the hall from Umbridge’s office so as not to be caught, before Naruto finally had enough.

“Listen, Neji, I don’t know what your problem is, but it’s really annoying me,” he ran his hand through his hair in frustration, neither of them noticing Harry coming from Umbridge’s office at the same moment and hiding behind a suit of armor to eavesdrop.

“I’m sorry, captain, but I don’t know what you’re referring to,” pale silver locked with blue in an impassive stare.

“Don’t ‘captain’ me,” Naruto snapped. “And you know exactly what I’m talking about, you haven’t even talked to me since our run in with Malfoy on Friday, except when absolutely necessary. Even Kiba’s noticed.”

Harry looked between the two from his hiding spot, wondering what on earth the captain business was about, but also realizing the blond had a point. Neji and Naruto had seemed really close before but something must have happened because the brunet was avoiding Naruto at all costs.

“Naruto… I—I can’t,” he began quietly, dropping his eyes. “All I can do is apologize for my rash behavior. But don’t ask me to explain why I did it.”

“I know why you did it, Nej,” the blond sighed, causing Neji to look up hopefully. “It was a diversionary tactic, a bit of a strange one, but still.”

“Oh,” Neji’s face fell as he once again looked at the floor. “Of—of course.”

Naruto reached out and lifted his lieutenant’s chin so he could look him in the eye, “It was just a diversionary tactic, wasn’t it?”

Neji couldn’t take the hopeful look in those blue eyes and looked away. He couldn’t help the tears that pooled on his lashes, of course Naruto wouldn’t want it to be anything other than what he thought. How could he? Neji couldn’t get his hopes up that his captain would ever be interested in him. For all he knew, Naruto liked girls, why would he even consider him.

“Answer me, Nej,” Naruto whispered pleadingly. “I can’t stand it when you don’t talk to me. I don’t want to lose you. Please don’t shut me out. Don’t turn into _him_.”

“No,” he said so quietly Naruto almost missed it.

“No what?” the blond pressed, not quite sure what part he was referring to.

“No, it wasn’t just a diversionary tactic,” Neji sighed, still unable to meet the blue eyes of his captain.

 **“I told ya so,”** Kyuubi taunted. **“Told ya so, told ya so, told ya so…”**

Naruto ignored the fox’s laughing and focused on his lieutenant, “If it wasn’t, then what was it?”

“A mistake,” the Hyuuga shook his head, effectively breaking away from Naruto’s grasp but didn’t move away.

“Oh, so kissing me was a mistake?” Naruto snapped, unable to believe the pride of the man in front of him.

At this point, Harry had to cover his mouth so the other two wouldn’t hear his surprised gasp. Neji had kissed Naruto? And then he’d called it a mistake? That was a bunch of bullshit if Harry’s ever heard it. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that Neji had a thing for the other teen.

“I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you like that,” Neji sighed. “I lost control. And for that I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, you fucking _baka_!” the blond growled. “And don’t you ever say what you did was a mistake! You’re smarter than that. Don’t belittle yourself. You deserve the chance to be happy as much as the next person.”

“I’m not free to be happy,” the brunet shook his head, his hair swaying slightly with the agitation of the movement.

“You are as free as you let yourself be, Neji,” he reached up and traced the green seal on the other’s forehead. “Just because you have this doesn’t make _you_ a caged bird. I thought we’d already been over this four years ago. If you need me to beat it into that thick head of yours again, I’ll gladly do it.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Neji allowed himself a small smile. “Thank you, Naruto.”

Harry, not understanding a word of what just went on, decided it was a good time to leave, not wanting to witness anymore of this obviously private scene. He slipped out from behind the suit of armor and dashed across the hall and headed for the stairs to Gryffindor tower, never noticing the eyes following his retreat.

“I believe our charge has just left for the tower,” Neji shook his head and moved away to follow.

 **“Don’t let him go, kit,”** Kyuubi hollered. **“Don’t let it end like that.”**

‘What would you have me do, you stupid fox?’ Naruto scoffed.

 **“Show him how you feel, kit,”** the demon sighed, almost frustrated with his young, naïve vessel. **“Let him know you don’t regret what happened. Otherwise, you will lose him.”**

Almost of its own volition, his hand shot out and grabbed the sleeve of Neji’s school robes. The brunet turned and looked at him curiously. He saw the confusion on the blond’s face and realized he was having an argument with the nine-tailed fox.

“Naruto?” he stepped closer, hoping to break whatever hold the Kyuubi had over his captain at the moment, knowing it could wait at least until they got up to the dormitories.

 **“It’s now or never, kit,”** Kyuubi said quietly. **“If you want this, then show him, otherwise, let him go.”**

Naruto looked up and met the concerned gaze of the Hyuuga.

“Neji,” he whispered, before reaching up and pulling the other close, claiming his lips in a heated kiss.

To say Neji was surprised was a vast understatement. Naruto was kissing him? Wait, _Naruto was kissing him_! Without further thought on the matter, he wrapped his arms around the lithe waist and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. His tongue darted out and tentatively brushed against Naruto’s bottom lip, silently pleading for entrance. His lips parted, allowing the other access. Neji explored the moist cavern, finally pulling Naruto’s tongue into his mouth to repeat the gesture. They finally pulled apart for air, their foreheads resting against one another.

“Don’t,” Naruto said, rather breathlessly, “ever say kissing me was a mistake.”


	9. Birthdays are Always Fun, Unless You're Naruto

Chapter 9: Birthdays are Always Fun, Unless You’re Naruto

 

September finally gave way to October, and with it the first Hogsmeade visit of the year. The morning of the scheduled event, Iruka popped up at the Gryffindor table and gathered the younger generation of shinobi around him.

“Dumbledore talked with me the other day,” he whispered so no one around them could hear. “He said to go to the village you all had to have signed permission from your legal guardians, as all of you are legal in our culture it seemed moot but rules here are different, so Kakashi and I went home and got permission for all of you with parents or relatives still alive, but as for the rest of you…”

“You mean I can’t go?” Naruto whined piteously. “I was hoping to get something from this village.”

Neji reached over and surreptitiously captured his captain’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. The two of them had been closer than ever since their second kiss, though they had kept it rather discrete and casual, trying not to let anyone else know yet.

“If you would let me finish, Naruto,” the chunin rubbed his neck in frustration. “That leaves only Naruto and the sand shinobi without anyone to give consent. But since you are on a mission, Tsunade gave me permission to act as your guardian for the time being. So you all have permission to go to the village. Your forms have already been turned in to your Head of House, Professor McGonagall.”

“Don’t do that, Iruka,” the blond punched his former sensei on the arm. “That wasn’t nice at all.”

“I’m sorry, Naruto, but you didn’t let me finish,” Iruka chuckled slightly. “Now all of you have a good time in Hogsmeade, and don’t do anything to get in trouble.”

Naruto and Kiba scoffed, while the others just shook their heads. After breakfast they queued up in front of Filch, who matched their names to the long list of students who had permission from their parents or guardian to visit the village. They stayed a short distance from the Golden Trio till they reached the outskirts of Hogsmeade.

“Hey, guys,” Naruto asked casually, “what are you gonna do today?”

“Oh, I forgot to ask,” Hermione shook her head, turning to look at them. “Some other students are meeting us at the Hog’s Head later, would you like to come along? If that’s alright with you, Harry?”

“It doesn’t bother me,” Harry shrugged, while giving Hermione a pointed look. “Besides, I like them.”

“Well, what do you say guys?” Naruto looked at the others, who all nodded in agreement. “We’ll meet ya there then. When exactly should we meet you?”

“In about half an hour,” the witch replied.

“Alright, we’ll be there,” the blond grinned. “I’ve got some shopping I want to do real quick though, anyone want to come with?”

“I’ll go,” Kiba bounded over to him, Akamaru running along beside him.

Naruto looked over at Neji, who met his questioning gaze unflinchingly. He gave a subtle glance in Harry’s direction and his captain nodded in agreement.

“Okay then, Kib and I will see ya later.”

With that the two of them bounded up the street, with Akamaru giving chase. Harry watched them go and then, when he was sure they were out of earshot, turned to Neji and Shino.

“You’re just gonna let them go off on their own?” he asked curiously.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Neji looked at bit confused at the wizard’s questioning.

“Aren’t you and Naruto together?” the black haired wizard questioned, causing all eyes to lock on the long haired Hyuuga.

“I wanted to lose him actually,” the brunet sighed, knowing he’d have some explaining to do later. “Are you guys coming?”

“You guys go,” Kankuro waved the others off. “Temari and I are gonna go to this pub thing. Anyway, you guys know Naruto better than we do.”

Neji, Shino, and Gaara nodded and headed up the street as well. The wizards, along with Kankuro and Temari, began their way to the Hog’s Head. They walked down the main street past Zonko’s Joke Shop, where they were unsurprised to see Fred, George, and Lee Jordan, along with Kiba and Naruto, past the post office, from which owls issued at regular intervals, and turned up a side street at the top of which stood a small inn. A battered wooden sign hung from a rusty bracket over the door, with a picture upon it of a wild boar’s severed head leaking blood onto the white cloth around it. The sign creaked in the wind as they approached. The three wizards hesitated outside the door, while Temari and Kankuro pushed their way inside as if this was a common occurrence for them.

When Harry, Ron, and Hermione finally entered they noticed the two siblings at the bar, apparently ordering drinks. The trio made their way over to the bar and ordered their drinks as well. Then the five of them retreated to the farthest table from the bar and sat down. Temari set down the four white bottles she was carrying, while Kankuro set down the eight small glasses.

“So,” Harry began nervously, “what was that about back on the street?”

“Oh that,” Kankuro waved his hand dismissively. “Neji and Gaara wanted to get something for Naruto’s birthday. They couldn’t very well do that if he was tagging along with them. So they arranged for Kiba to keep him distracted for awhile.”

“When is his birthday?” Hermione looked over at the puppeteer curiously.

“Tuesday,” Temari smirked. “But don’t worry about it. From what he’s said, no one really pays attention to his birthday, except perhaps Iruka-sensei.”

“Why would people do that?” Ron gaped. “I mean, Naruto’s a rather hard person to miss, he’s hyper and loud, why wouldn’t he broadcast his birthday to the world?”

“Well,” the two Sand ANBU exchanged a look.

“You see,” Kankuro went on at Temari’s nod, “the people of his village have always hated him, and they don’t want to be reminded of his existence, especially on that day.”

“Why?” Harry asked, pinning the two shinobi with his gaze.

“On the day Naruto was born,” Temari sighed, “their village was attacked. Their leader sacrificed himself in the battle. His death ended the fight, but everyone blames Naruto, they think of him as a curse. He’s usually not allowed out of his house on that day, or he’s sent out of the village. We only know this because the last couple of years he’s been coming to see us, because of his friendship with Gaara. I remember last year,” she chuckled.

“Oh yeah,” Kankuro shook his head, laughing slightly. “I’ll never forget the wrath of Iruka when he came to pick him up the next day to take him home.”

“Why would Mr. Umino get upset?” Hermione gave him another curious look, taking not of the obviously lacking information from the siblings.

“Well, Iruka sees Naruto like a little brother,” Temari smiled. “They were both orphaned in the attack on their village. But anyway, he wasn’t happy with the fact that he had a hungover Naruto to take home and had to get him out of the clutches of a hungover Gaara to boot. They had managed to get a hold of quite a bit of saké.”

“I think that was the best birthday Naruto ever had, honestly,” Kankuro poured himself a cup of the drink he’d purchased and tossed it back. “I wasn’t sure, until today, that his friends even knew when his birthday was.”

“That’s sad,” Harry sighed, knowing exactly what the blond went through. “I never had a proper birthday until I entered Hogwarts.”

“Well, you have to promise not to say anything,” Temari leaned in, “but this year, we’re planning on throwing him a party. You are all welcome to come. Of course, I think it’s going to be in the common room, so being invited really isn’t a special thing.”

“Of course it is,” Hermione scowled, wishing she didn’t mistrust the new students but unable to help herself. “It doesn’t sound like he’s had it easy, and any friends that he can get sounds like a good idea.”

“Don’t tell him that,” Kankuro chuckled darkly. “According to him, he has had it easy. But then compared with others, yeah, he has.”

“You mean like Gaara?” Harry’s eyes met the puppeteer’s. “Tell me, Kankuro, were you and Temari among the one’s that called him a monster?”

Ron and Hermione both gasped. Harry hadn’t told them of his conversation with the redhead. Kankuro and Temari looked down, neither able to meet his penetrating gaze.

“Not to his face,” Kankuro sighed. “But we did think it. He didn’t make it easy for us to believe he wasn’t. You didn’t know him before he met Naruto. Naruto can joke about me still being scared of Gaara, but there are still times when I fear for my life around my younger brother. You can’t suppress thirteen years of training in four, no matter how hard you try, or what happens. I know Gaara has changed, even more so in the last year, ever since…”

“Kankuro,” Temari put her hand on his shoulder, drawing him into a one armed embrace, which he gladly accepted, laying his head on her shoulder while his frame was wracked with sobs. “You’ll have to forgive him, he blames himself for something that happened to Gaara. In truth, I blame myself too, but there was nothing we could do to stop it. Thankfully, Naruto was able to bring him back to us.”

“What happened?” Ron leaned in curiously.

The blonde kunoichi shook her head, as tears pooled in her eyes. Hermione’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“You don’t want to say, or is it that you can’t?” she asked, risking their anger as her own boiled to the surface, tired of all the secrets surrounding the new students.

Temari snapped her head up and glared at the brunette. “You try losing your brother to the most feared people in your world, and then thinking you’re too late to save him, only to have a blond brat from another village save his life! Don’t tell me we don’t have the right to not talk about it because of your morbid curiosity!”

Hermione sank back in her seat, her head hung in shame. She knew she shouldn’t have done that, but she couldn’t help it. Harry and Ron looked between the two girls, trying to figure out whose side they should take. They finally just shrugged and decided to change the subject.

“You know what?” Ron murmured, looking over at the bar with enthusiasm. “We could order anything we liked in here, I bet the bloke would sell us anything, he wouldn’t care. I’ve always wanted to try firewhisky—”

888888

As soon as they had left the three wizarding students with Kankuro and Temari, Neji, Shino, and Gaara headed to one of the many shops littering the streets. Their first stop was Honeydukes. Shino left the others and began looking for something to stave his boyfriend’s sweet tooth while the other two began looking for something Naruto might enjoy.

“Gaara,” Neji began as he eyed some chocolate fudge behind the counter, “I’ve been meaning to ask you but haven’t had the opportunity till now, why are you on this mission? As Kazekage, wouldn’t it be impractical for you to leave?”

Impassive jade orbs turned and locked with curious pale silver. He shrugged, deeming the question worthy of an answer.

“In truth, Dumbledore asked for me and my siblings specifically,” the redhead pulled a box off one of the shelves and inspected it. “Why, he wouldn’t say. But I believe he still thought my father was the Kazekage. At the amount he was paying, the council insisted that I take the job, saying it would be good for the village.”

“Are they in charge while you are gone?” the brunet asked.

“Those old fools, no,” he smirked. “I left my former sensei, Baki, in charge with a clone to keep up appearances, Tsunade is also helping. I would not leave my village unprotected for a year. I am receiving reports on a regular basis, things that need my signature and such. And besides, it gives me a break from the day to day of running a village. And I get to see Naruto.”

“Fair enough,” Neji nodded, finally deciding to get Naruto a package of chocolate frogs and some sugar quills.

“Are you sure you want to get those for Naruto?” Shino asked, joining them at the counter. “Isn’t he hyperactive enough without adding sugar on top of it?”

“And are those not for your boyfriend?” the pale eyed teen motioned to the box of sherbet balls in his hand. “And is he not just as hyperactive as the captain?”

“Point taken,” the bug ninja smirked. “So is it true? Are you and he really going out as Harry said?”

The Hyuuga nodded slightly, a blush tingeing his pale cheeks. “Shall we go now and see if there is anything else we can find for his birthday?”

888888

First came Neville with Dean and Lavender, who were closely followed by Parvati and Padma Patil with (Harry’s stomach did a back flip, though something else reared up inside him that he couldn’t quite identify) Cho and one of her usually giggling girlfriends, then (on her own and looking so dreamy that she might have walked in by accident) Luna Lovegood; then Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, and Angelina Johnson, Colin and Denis Creevey, Ernie Macmillian, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hannah Abbott, and a Hufflepuff girl with a long plait down her back whose name Harry did not know; three Ravenclaw boys he was pretty sure were called Anthony Goldstein, Michael Connor, and Terry Boot: Ginny, Neji, Shino, and Gaara (as soon as Kankuro saw his little brother he latched himself on his neck and began sobbing uncontrollably, causing the Kazekage to roll his eyes but he suffered the embrace after meeting his sister’s tear-filled eyes), closely followed by a tall skinny blond boy with an upturned nose whom Harry recognized vaguely as being a member of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and bringing up the rear, Fred and George Weasley with their friend Lee Jordan, and Naruto and Kiba, all of whom were carrying large paper bags crammed with Zonko’s merchandise.

After a rather long discussion, in which the ninja learned quite a bit about Harry Potter’s exploits over the years, Hermione rummaged in her bag and produced a parchment and a quill, then hesitated, rather as though she was steeling herself to say something.

“I-I think everybody should write their names down, just so we know who was here. But I also think,” she took a deep breath, “that we all ought to agree not to shout about what we’re doing. So if you sign, you’re agreeing not to tell Umbridge—or anybody else—what we’re up to.”

When everyone else had left, the shinobi, who had seated themselves away from the major proceedings, approached the Golden Trio.

“We didn’t sign,” Naruto’s gaze locked on Hermione.

“Oh,” she hesitated for a moment and then pulled the parchment back out. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you would want to.”

“We agreed to come,” Neji shook his head.

“We’ll sign,” Gaara shrugged, “as a sign of faith between us.”

“Alright,” she nodded slightly, holding out the quill for Naruto.

He just shook his head, biting his thumb. He lowered his hand to the parchment and signed with his own blood. He looked up, his eyes pinning Hermione to her seat as she gaped like a fish.

“You have my word,” he nodded and moved aside.

The other shinobi followed his lead, all signing in blood. Until finally, it was Gaara’s turn to step forward and place his name on the paper. He reached for the quill in the witch’s now limp hand.

“I cannot sign in blood at the moment,” he explained quietly, “but you have my word, I shall speak of this to no one.”

“Is that some strange custom of yours?” Ron asked, mortified.

“We do not give our word lightly,” Kankuro stared at the redheaded wizard. “Our blood holds us to our oath.”

“It is not a common occurrence,” Shino added quietly, noting their stunned expressions. “But in this situation, we feel the need to take more drastic measures to ensure trust.”

“But a blood bond—” Hermione began, until Neji held up his hand to silence her.

“It is necessary,” he said. “Also know this, if ever there is a need for our assistance, mix your blood with ours and call, we shall be there at a moment’s notice. Any one of you three, who witnessed this, can do this, no one else, we are at your service.”

All eight of them bowed and then left the tavern. The three wizarding students looked down at the parchment, only to find the names of the new students fading slowly into the parchment so they were no longer visible to the naked eye.

“That’s weird,” Ron looked at the other two for support.

“Definitely dodgy,” Hermione’s eyes narrowed, which was becoming a common occurrence when discussing the new students. “It brings up too many questions. I need to look into blood bonds when we return to the castle. I don’t think I’ve ever read about one like this before.”

888888

The rest of the weekend passed in a semblance of peace. The shinobi had gone into the forest once again for training, only this time they didn’t encounter any strange creatures.

Monday morning, however, they all noticed a large sign on the notice board that made them all cringe inwardly.

 

—By order of—

The High Inquisitor of Hogwarts

All Student Organizations, Societies, Teams, Groups, and Clubs are henceforth disbanded.

An Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more students.

Permission to re-form may be sought from the High Inquisitor (Professor Umbridge).

No Student Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor.

Any student found to have formed, or to belong to, an Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled.

_‘The above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-four._

Signed:

Dolores Jane Umbridge

High Inquisitor

 

“Good thing we signed that paper like we did, though I’m not sure how she found out,” Naruto shook his head. “But think about it this way, getting out to train will be much more fun, having to sneak past that old toad will be good training in and of itself.”

“Naruto, we need to talk,” Gaara said from behind him.

“What about, Gaara?” the blond glanced around, making sure no students were up and in the common room yet, knowing from his tone, Gaara was in Kazekage mode.

“You and Kankuro need to change teams,” the redhead crossed his arms over his chest.

“What? Why?” Naruto looked at his friend in confusion.

“Hyuuga told me,” the Kazekage shrugged. “I cannot forsake the mission for your personal life.”

Harry, who was on his way down the stairs, paused well out of sight as he heard the last sentence. What mission? What was up with these new students? Did Hermione have a point in not trusting them?

“We talked about this earlier, Gaara,” the demon vessel shook his head. “We, as the leaders, are not safe to put on the same team. I can keep my personal life and professional life separate.”

Leaders? Teams? Harry was even more confused, but he stayed where he was to listen.

“You haven’t so far,” green eyes locked with azure. “You and Hyuuga both have put Aburame and Inuzuka on your target more often than is necessary. I do not oppose that team as they’re targets are not under the constant surveillance that ours are, and they are quite adept at keeping things controlled. You, however, are new at this. You and I shall be in charge of your target, while Hyuuga and Kankuro shall look out for ours.”

Targets? Were these people assassins of some sort? Harry wondered. But if that was the case than how come no one had died yet? His head hurt just trying to piece together the cryptic conversation.

“But…”

“My decision is final, Naruto,” Gaara snapped.

“Yes sir,” he crossed his arm over his chest in salute and bowed his head.

“Think of it this way, Naruto,” the Kazekage smirked slightly, “now if you and Hyuuga want to take off on your own, Kankuro and I shall be there to pick up the slack.”

“I guess,” Naruto tried to contain his smile, but didn’t quite succeed.

888888

Harry had no time to raise his questions to Hermione throughout the rest of that day, or the next. Not that he really wanted to, she was suspicious of the new students enough already. He did, however, decide to keep an eye on the shinobi. But nothing seemed too out of place, except for the fact that he now saw Gaara and Naruto hanging out more than before, as well as Neji and Kankuro, but as for their targets, he couldn’t even begin to guess who they were.

It wasn’t until after Quidditch practice on Tuesday that something clicked in his brain. He had been walking back up to the castle with Ron, discussing his most recent bout of scar issues, when he saw Naruto and Kankuro standing by the double doors into the castle. They were joking back and forth as usual, but he noticed their eyes kept darting to him and Ron. Harry gasped and grabbed Ron’s arm, halting their progress.

“What is it, mate?” the redhead looked at him curiously.

“I just figured something out,” Harry whispered furiously. “Hermione was right, there’s something off about the new students.”

“Oh no,” Ron groaned, “not you too. I thought you liked them and trusted them, even if they did have their weird quirks.”

“I do like them, but I can’t ignore what I heard,” he proceeded to tell Ron about the conversations he’d overheard in the past few weeks. “I just realized that their targets are _us_. Haven’t you noticed that they’re always hanging around us? Kiba and Shino must be on your brothers and sister, cause they are usually around them.”

“That could just be a coincidence,” Ron shrugged, not wanting to believe it. “I mean, Kiba is just like Fred and George, so of course they’d get along. And it’s not like the others have many friends, they’re pretty stand offish.”

“Maybe they have a reason to be,” Harry insisted, feeling slightly like Hermione in that moment. “I mean think about it, if they’re here to assassinate someone, they wouldn’t get close to anyone else, it would be harder to actually do the job.”

“But Dumbledore trusts them, or did you forget that they spent some time at Headquarters on his request?” Ron’s eyes suddenly went wide, as if he’d just thought of something. “Hey, maybe they’re guards.” He held up his hand to stop Harry from interrupting. “I mean, think about it, if they are ‘targeting’ us and my brothers and sister, it makes sense, I mean you are you, and me and Hermione always hang out with you and get into some sort of trouble, and then Fred, George, and Ginny are the only other kids of Order members still in Hogwarts. Maybe he hired them to keep an eye on us, or maybe they’re Order members in disguise.”

“Or maybe they’re really good spies,” Harry sighed, running his hand through his messy locks in frustration.

“Yo!” a voice said from behind them.

Both boys whirled around and came face to face with a tall, masked figure. In the background they could hear Naruto bursting into a fit of hysterical laughter. The laughter died immediately as the figure reached up and began to slowly lift the patch over his left eye.

Naruto had watched his former sensei appear behind the two wizards, and thought the looks on their faces had been priceless, but he knew what was coming as the Jounin began lifting his eye patch, having seen this tactic used on numerous occasions.

“Kakashi! Nooo!”

But he was too late. Kakashi had caught both boys within his Sharingan. Naruto and Kankuro rushed over, arriving just in time to catch both wizards before they hit the ground.

“Don’t worry, Naruto,” Kakashi smiled at the younger blond. “I didn’t do anything too bad. I just blocked a certain patch of their memories. In fact, they should wake up in a few minutes. Someone has been careless, they thought you and the others were out to assassinate them, or were guards hired to protect them.”

“Shit, he must have heard Gaara and me talking the other day, I thought I sensed someone approaching,” the ANBU sighed. “What with one thing and another, this day just keeps getting worse and worse.”

“Well, come on,” the silver haired Jounin put his hand on Naruto’s shoulder. “I’ll take you up to your common room. Kankuro, think you can make these two walk on their own?”

“That shouldn’t be too much trouble,” the puppeteer grinned mischievously, lifting his hands and placing chakra strings on the two wizards.

They made their way up the winding corridors and stairways, not speaking to one another as they went. When they arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady, Harry and Ron began to stir. Kankuro released his chakra strings and leaned both of them against the wall.

Harry’s eyes were the first to open. He blinked in confusion at his surroundings. Hadn’t he been outside, near the Quidditch pitch? He knew he and Ron had been talking about something, and he felt that it was important, but for the life of him couldn’t remember what it was. He blinked again, trying to take everything in, when his eyes landed on a familiar mop of blond spikes.

“Naruto?” he croaked out, his voice hoarse for some unknown reason. “Wha…what happened?”

“Oh, Harry, thank god,” Naruto sighed, leaning against the banister for support. “We thought something terrible had happened. Kakashi-sensei said he saw you two walking back to the castle after practice, then without warning you dropped. Luckily, Kankuro and I were close by and helped bring you up here. We thought about taking you to the hospital wing, but didn’t think you’d appreciate that too much.”

“Alright, Naruto, calm down,” Kakashi rested his hand on the blond’s shoulder. “Let’s get all of you inside and then we can discuss this further.”

“Oh, right,” Kankuro smirked. _“Mimbulus mimbletonia.”_

The portrait hole swung open and the five of them entered the common room, which was surprisingly dark, considering the hour. A flash, and then the candles flickered to life, revealing all the Gryffindors and Iruka-sensei.

“Surprise!” everyone shouted, as Kakashi placed both hands on his former student’s shoulders.

“Happy birthday, Naruto!” Iruka stepped forward and wrapped the blond in a fierce hug.

“What?” he looked around in confusion. “You guys? You didn’t? You shouldn’t… I…”

“Shut up, Naruto,” Kiba chuckled. “Yes, we know when your birthday is. Sorry if we’ve been real _prats_ (1) about it but you know how things are in the village. Our parents never let us near you if they could help it, and since we’ve…” he caught a look from his boyfriend, “I mean, the past couple of years you weren’t home, so yeah, we kinda missed it.”

“Thanks guys,” Naruto sniffed as Kiba and Shino moved up to give him a hug. “You don’t know how much this means.”

“Yes, Naruto, we do,” Neji stepped forward and wrapped his arm around the blond’s shoulders.

It was the first openly public display of affection from the long haired brunet since they had secretly started ‘going out’, if you could call it that, and Naruto felt touched by the gesture. He settled into the embrace, causing the Hyuuga to smirk. Gaara finally stepped forward, breaking the now uncomfortable silence in the common room.

“Sit,” he motioned to the couch nearest the fire.

Neji led him over and they sat down together. Kiba and Shino sank into a chair next to them, while Kankuro, Sakura, and Temari took another couch. Gaara remained standing. The remaining Gryffindors crowded around the shinobi, anxious to see some traditional birthday things.

“Drink,” Gaara handed Naruto a white bottle.

The blond grinned and took a swig, passing it to his lieutenant, who repeated the process. The bottle made it around the circle of shinobi, excluding Iruka and Kakashi, who were standing against the wall, finally ending up in Gaara’s hands.

“To Naruto,” he toasted and drained the bottle.

Before anyone could say anything else, however, a tapping was heard on the window. The wizards all looked over curiously. There was a faint ‘oh’ from Hermione as she rushed over and opened the window, admitting five owls, including Hedwig and Pigwidgeon, each with one or two parcels attached to their foot.

Hedwig dropped her parcel beside Naruto, a note held in her beak, which he took. Once the other owls had dropped their burdens they all flew off and left the blond gaping.

“Open them,” Hermione encouraged. “I took the liberty of sending a few owls out to your hometown, asking for presents from anyone willing to give them.”

“Thanks Hermione,” Naruto smiled, as tears pooled in his blue eyes.

He opened the note Hedwig had given him first. It was from Tsunade.

_‘Brat,_

_‘I can’t believe you didn’t remind me it was your birthday! Not that I should have forgotten but that’s beside the point. I managed to convince your friends to send their wishes as well. Have a happy birthday, brat._

_‘Tsunade_

_‘P.S. Shizune and TonTon send their greetings, as they are out on assignment._

Naruto smiled and handed the letter to Neji before grabbing the package the snowy owl had brought. He chuckled as he saw the contents of the small box. Neji peered over his shoulder curiously.

“What’s so funny, Naruto?” he asked quietly.

“It’s just like her,” the blond lifted the piece of paper out of the box. “It’s an IOU for Ichirakur’s, and a bottle from her private stash. I love you, Grandma Tsunade.”

He reached for the next package, which was much heavier. He peeled back the paper only about half way and a blush crept up his cheeks.

“I’m gonna kill him,” he muttered, throwing the partially wrapped present down in disgust. “As if I want to read that trash. Stupid pervy sage (2).”

“Can I have it, Naruto?” Kakashi looked up excitedly.

“No,” the blond huffed, picking up the package and holding it to his chest protectively. “As if I’d let you have my exclusive, not-even-released, copy. According to him it’s supposed to be a rather compelling story, with lots of action, and not the kind you’re thinking Kakashi, considering he wrote it just for me.”

He moved on. The next package was from TenTen, who sent him a new, rather expensive, set of kunai. From Hinata he received a bottle of her specially made healing balm. Choji and Ino’s presents were packaged together, Choji had gotten him coupons from almost all the restaurants around Konoha, while Ino had sent him a crystal in the shape of a rose, with a note revealing the symbolism of both the flower and the crystal.

“That leaves Shika and Lee,” Naruto looked between the last two parcels. “I want to save Shika’s for last, knowing how _troublesome_ it was for him to come up with something to get me. But I don’t know which is which.”

“This is from Lee,” Neji pointed to the smaller of the two packages, indicating the lurid wrapping paper. “You should know that, as the wrapping is probably the most _youthful_ he could find.”

Naruto chuckled and removed the horrible wrapping paper and opened the box. Neji immediately closed his eyes and let out a groan of embarrassment.

“You are not wearing _that_ ,” he quickly grabbed the green thing out of the box and shoved it into Kiba’s hands. “Dispose of that immediately. I will not look at that _youthful_ thing again, it’s bad enough that he wears it all the time.”

Kiba grinned as he got off Shino’s lap and trotted over to the fire, flinging the green spandex suit into the flames.

“Hey, that was mine,” Naruto pouted.

“That wasn’t very nice,” Hermione frowned between the two conspirators.

“No, that’s alright,” Kakashi interrupted her. “You really don’t want to see that thing in action,” he barely repressed a shudder. “It’s bad enough that Gai and Lee wear them, I won’t have Naruto corrupted with it.”

“Okay, so this one’s from Shika,” Naruto grabbed the last parcel and shook it gently, causing the contents to rattle slightly.

“You could’ve just broken it Naruto,” Sakura scolded quietly, for her at least. “But then again, knowing Shikamaru, he would’ve thought of that and not sent you anything breakable.”

“Oh,” the blond said sheepishly and began removing the brown paper.

Inside was one of the last things he had ever expected to receive, but was grateful for nonetheless; a shogi set. Shikamaru had been in the process of teaching him the game shortly before he left on his year-long mission, so it was touching that he had got him his very own so he could practice.

“Hey, is that like chess?” Ron looked at the game, curiously excited.

“Okay, our turn,” Kiba interrupted, thrusting a bag at Naruto. “That’s from both me and Shino.”

“You shouldn’t have,” Naruto teased as he opened the bag and spilled out several Zonko items.

“Yeah, I know,” the dog ninja rolled his eyes.

“Here squirt,” Kankuro handed him another bag. “It’s from both me and Temari, figured you could use it.”

He opened it and found two more bottles of saké. He laughed as he set them in the box with Tsunade’s.

“And this is from me,” Sakura handed him a box of ramen. “Sorry it isn’t wrapped or anything.”

“Aww, Sakura, you’re the best,” he beamed at her as he reverently took the box and added it to his collection of presents.

“Here,” Kakashi tossed him a package similar to the one Jiraiya had sent.

“Do I even have to open it?” the blond raised a questioning brow. “Or should I just assume I know what it is and don’t want these impressionable youths to see it?”

“It’s up to you,” the silver haired jounin shrugged.

“I’ll save it then,” he laid it on top of the other partially wrapped book.

“This is from me, Naruto,” Iruka stepped forward and handed him a book with a Japanese title. “I got it from Tsunade a few years back, figured you might like it.”

“Thanks, Iruka-sensei,” he bit his lip, trying not to show his pleasure over the book.

Gaara wordlessly handed him a small box. Inside on the velvet lining was a silver chain with a fox pendent. The fox had rubies set for the eyes and it was magically enhanced so instead of one tail, it had nine, flowing freely. The blond smiled and nodded at his friend, who quirked his lip in a partial smile.

“This isn’t much,” Neji handed him a box. “But I didn’t know what else to get you.”

Naruto opened it and saw the candy first. He beamed at his lieutenant, until his eyes caught something else in the box. Underneath the packages of Honeydukes sweets was a leather bound book. He opened it curiously. His mouth fell open when he saw the moving pictures inside, taken at their time at Hogwarts.

“Colin Creevey provided the pictures,” Neji admitted sheepishly, a blush tinting his cheeks. “I thought you would like it.”

“I love it, Nej,” he threw his arms around the brunet.

“Er,” Ron stepped forward nervously, interrupting the embrace. “This is from me, Harry, and Hermione. Sorry, it’s not much, but we only found out the other day.”

Naruto let go of his boyfriend and accepted the brightly wrapped package from the redheaded wizard. It was a wizarding chess set.

“Now you can play two different versions,” Hermione said smugly, knowing exactly what the shogi set was.

“Thanks guys,” Naruto sighed, leaning back into his seat happily. “This is the best birthday I’ve ever had, excluding last year’s of course.” He shared a look with the Kazekage.

“Now that that’s over with,” Fred clapped his hands together, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Let’s get this party started,” George chimed in, passing out butterbeers they had commandeered from Hogsmeade.

The party lasted well into the night, and Naruto couldn’t think of a time he’d been happier.


	10. Unlikely Allies

Chapter 10: Unlikely Allies

 

The next day found Harry very distracted. He had told the shinobi to meet them on the seventh floor at eight. He still couldn’t remember what he and Ron had been discussing on the way up from the Quidditch pitch the previous day, but had pushed it to the back of his mind as he had bigger concerns right now, mainly getting through class and organizing the first meeting of Defense.

At lunch time, he and Ron entered the Great Hall together, Hermione said she needed to look into something. If only the boys knew what she was looking into, they might not have been so calm about it.

Hermione had received a strange note that morning at breakfast, asking her to come to a deserted classroom during the lunch hour to discuss something only she might know. She was curious, but cautious as well, since there was no signature on the note. She approached the room, the one Temari had dragged them into weeks ago, with her wand drawn, just in case this was some elaborate prank. As she entered the room, her composure slipped as she recognized the figure standing in front of her.

“Malfoy!” she hissed, raising her wand.

“Granger,” he nodded, quirking a brow at her wand. “I don’t plan on attacking you, if that’s what you think. I actually have a question for you.”

“Oh?” her wand lowered a fraction of an inch.

“Please, have a seat,” he motioned to the desk in front of him.

She stepped warily forward and sat down, her wand never leaving her hand. She eyed the blond suspiciously.

“If you’d like me to prove who I am, Granger,” he smirked, “I’d be more than happy to do so.”

“Please do,” she snapped waspishly, not letting her guard down. This couldn’t be Malfoy, not if he was asking for her help.

“I am Draco Lucien (1) Malfoy, Slytherin prefect and Seeker,” he chuckled slightly. “My favorite thing to call you is a Mudblood. And if that is still not enough, then back in first year I know you and Potter were smuggling out an illegal dragon that landed the three of us and Longbottom in detention with Hagrid to track down an injured unicorn.”

“Oh alright!” she released her wand, but left it on the desk within easy reach.

“Good,” he sat down across from her, relaxing elegantly in the desk. “Now that that’s out of the way, do you mind if I request some food from the house-elves?”

Hermione smiled smugly, “I’ll do it, I don’t trust you around house-elves. Dobby?”

There was a crack and the funny looking house-elf appeared. “Did Harry Potter’s friend Miss Granger want something from Dobby?”

“We’d like some lunch, if it’s not too much trouble,” she said kindly, keeping the elf’s attention on herself. “And please, call me Hermione.”

With another crack he was gone.

“You did that on purpose,” Malfoy smirked. “Trying to taunt me with my old house-elf, Granger? As if I care. But I have to say that was rather Slytherin of you.”

She just smirked at the closest thing she would get to a compliment from the blond. A moment later, Dobby returned with a tray of sandwiches and pumpkin juice for the pair. He bowed low to Hermione’s polite ‘thank you’ and left without even realizing who else was in the room.

“You said you had a question for me,” she said, pouring them each a gobletful of juice and handing one to Malfoy.

“Ah, ever to the point. Gryffindors,” Malfoy shook his head, accepting the glass from her. “But yes, I do. I was wondering if you knew anything about an organization known as Akatsuki?”

Unbeknownst to the two magic users, they were not alone. Hanging by chakra encased feet, two of the shinobi listened with rapt attention. Catching each other’s eye, they nodded. The information this blond had would prove invaluable.

“I am not familiar with that name,” she took a thoughtful swig of pumpkin juice. “Where did you hear about it from?”

“That would be telling,” he sat down his own glass and leaned forward. “I will tell you though, but I need your word that none of what is said here goes beyond this room, not even to Potter and Weasley.”

“You have it,” she nodded, unconsciously leaning in as well. “I won’t tell a soul what you tell me today.”

“Very well,” Malfoy sighed, relaxing once again in his seat. “My father has just recently left on a mission for the Dark Lord. I don’t know specifics, but I do know that he is headed for Japan in search of the Akatsuki, rumored to be notorious in the Hidden Ninja Villages.”

“How do you know of the Ninja Villages?” she asked surprised. She had assumed none of the student body had heard of them, outside the ones she’d discussed it with anyway.

“I have known of the rumor of their existence since I was young,” he waved dismissively. “Most purebloods know them, but dismiss them as fiction as no one has ever found them. But I only ask out of interest in what the Dark Lord wants with them.”

“As I said, I am not familiar with that organization, but…” she rummaged around in her backpack and pulled out the scroll she had acquired from the library. “This scroll is the only information the school has on the subject of the Ninja Villages. It is unlike anything I’ve ever read before, so it is possible I missed them. It’s the Akatsuki, you say?”

She unrolled the scroll and immediately dropped it upon reading the first two words. Draco looked at her in confusion. She gingerly picked the scroll back up and took an unsteady breath.

“I’ve never seen anything like this scroll before,” she shook her head. “I opened it and it has only information on that organization.”

“What does it say?” Malfoy sat up quickly, foregoing his cool Slytherin pureblood demeanor in his curiosity.

 _“The Akatsuki,”_ she read aloud, _“is a feared organization throughout the Ninja Community, as all of its members are…_ oh my god.” She stopped.

“What?” the blond snapped irritably. “I don’t have all day, Granger.”

She took a deep fortifying breath and continued reading, _“…as all its members are S-class criminals. Their leader rules them with an iron fist, ever searching for the elusive bijuu._ I wonder what that is? Anyway, _In recent years there numbers have taken a drastic hit as more than half of them have been killed by various ninja of Konaha and Suna, two of the strongest allied nations. However, the remaining members are still to be feared.”_

“Doesn’t it say anything else, like who the members are?” Malfoy sighed in frustration.

“No,” she shook her head in annoyance. “It’s this damn scroll! It’s always so fucking elusive!”

“My, my, Granger,” he chuckled. “I believe that is the first time I’ve ever heard you swear. “And at reading material, at that. What is the world coming to?”

“I could say the same,” she laughed. “Malfoy, a pureblood Slytherin, willingly seeking the help of a Mudblood Gryffindor.”

“Yeah, well, just don’t let it get around,” he shook his head. “My reputation would be ruined. It’s bad enough I don’t…” he cut off abruptly.

“Don’t what?” she asked curiously. “I promise I won’t tell. I gave my word and I take that very seriously.”

“Fine,” he ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “If I don’t tell someone soon, I’m going to go insane anyway. I don’t like girls, they do nothing for me.”

“Oh,” she nodded, and then her eyes widened as understanding dawned. “Oh! But I thought you were with Pansy. Oh well, it does put things into perspective though.”

“You’re not going to look down on me for it?” he looked at her skeptically.

“Of course not,” she waved dismissively. “Firstly, you can’t help who you love or are attracted to, and secondly, I know at least two gay couples in Gryffindor. So who has caught your interest?”

“The new blond in Gryffindor,” he said almost too quietly.

“Naruto?!” she gasped. “But he’s taken.”

“I know,” he sighed. “It’s because of him and his boyfriend that I discovered I’m gay. I came across them kissing a few weeks back, but the look on his face when that girly-boy kissed him will haunt me forever.”

“Girly-boy? You can’t mean Neji,” she scoffed. “He’s far from being girly, well except perhaps his hair, but I believe that is a family thing.”

“As much as I enjoy talking about my sexual preferences with you, Granger,” Malfoy drawled, sitting up straight, “we both have classes to attend. Don’t expect us to be on friendly terms, you are still a Gryffindor and a Mudblood.”

“Of course,” she nodded, smiling cheekily. “And you’re still a Slytherin and a git, I get it.”

They both got to their feet and, making sure the coast was clear, left the room. As soon as the door closed behind them, Temari and Sakura released their chakra and landed gracefully on the floor.

“This is bad,” the pinkette looked at her companion, almost panicking.

“It could be,” Temari nodded, “if they join Voldemort. Otherwise, we’ll be okay. Calm down, Sakura.”

The medic took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, “You’re right. Besides, last I heard, Itachi was searching for Sasuke, with Kisame’s help. The others are still searching for Naruto. Lady Tsunade told me she would be feeding false information out about his whereabouts.”

“That’s all well and good, but if they discover the false leads they may be persuaded to side with Voldemort,” the blonde sighed. “If that happens, I don’t think we’ll make it.”

“I think I have an idea,” Sakura bit her lip. “I’ll have to run it by Naruto, but if it works they won’t even consider joining Voldemort.”

“Whatever it is, I’m all for it,” Temari smirked. “Keeping them out of this is an excellent idea.”

“Right,” the pinkette nodded. “I’ll talk with him after the meeting tonight.”

The two of them left and continued their classes throughout the day, surreptitiously casting glances back and forth.

888888

At half-past seven, Neji, Naruto, Kankuro, Gaara, and the two kunoichi followed their charges to the seventh floor. They all watched in horror as Harry took out his map, but released a silent sigh of relief when he didn’t seem to notice them on the parchment, his attention being too focused on the ones who could possibly get him in trouble. They didn’t notice, however, that the witch’s eyes narrowed at the parchment and as the trio paced the corridor she kept searching for the six shinobi.

They waited till the three wizarding students had entered and then released themselves from their place on the ceiling. Giving them five minutes, they proceeded to enter the Room of Requirements. When everyone else had arrived the shinobi took up spots right inside the door, most of them leaning casually against the wall, okay, only Kiba and Naruto weren’t leaning against the wall, since their boyfriends had decided they needed to be in their arms instead.

The meeting progressed without much interest on the ninja’s part. That was until they had divided into partners and Naruto threw out an offhanded comment to his former teammate.

“Hey, Sakura, maybe you should pay close attention,” he flashed his foxy grin. “You might end up learning something useful and then we won’t have to save your ass all the time.”

“Naruto!” she growled, drawing her fist back to clobber him but Temari held her back.

“It’s not worth it,” the blonde kunoichi hissed in her ear. “Let it go, for now.”

They practiced the disarming spell, but it never seemed to land on one of the shinobi, as they kept dodging their partners. Harry watched them from the corner of his eye, but didn’t say anything to them about their tactics, it seemed to be working for them.

When the meeting was over and everyone had returned to the common room, Sakura cornered the blond fox.

“Naruto, we need to talk,” she nodded toward the portrait hole, indicating their need for privacy.

“Okay,” he gave her a confused look but followed her into the corridor. He wouldn’t have gone, but Kiba and Shino had cornered Neji and were talking with him in low tones in the far corner of the room.

When they had exited the portrait hole, she grabbed his arm and began leading him away from the tower. He was terribly confused now, but continued to let her take the lead, knowing he had no chance of escaping her deathgrip anyway. When they had finally arrived in a far off corridor with no portraits, she checked the area for ghosts and Peeves. Once satisfied, she released the ANBU captain and turned to face him.

“What I’m about to tell you, Naruto, is classified information,” she sighed as she began. “I only know about it because Lady Tsunaded needed my help doing some medical work one day. Understand, this can’t be told to anyone else, not even Gaara.”

“I got it, Sakura,” he nodded. “I’m not completely stupid you know.”

“Okay,” she took a deep breath and sat down on the floor, motioning for him to join her. Once he did, she said, “The only reason this came up at all, is because of something Temari and I heard today. We followed Hermione during lunch, as usual, but she met up with the Malfoy boy. He wanted to know if she knew anything about the Akatsuki. The scroll she has, which I think I now know how to work, had a brief bit about them when she opened it.”

“Okay,” Naruto bit his lip in thought. “How much did they find out about the Akatsuki, and why was he interested?”

“There wasn’t much about them,” the pinkette shook her head. “And the reason he wanted to know, was because Voldemort is trying to recruit them.”

“We can’t let that happen,” cerulean orbs widened in shock. “If they join, we’re screwed. I mean, there’s not enough of us here to handle them.”

“I know,” Sakura placed her hand on his arm reassuringly. “That brings me to the classified information. I think I have a way for us to keep them well enough away from Voldemort. But it will require you and me to go home for a brief period of time.”

“What’s your plan?” his eyes narrowed in calculation.

“We meet our spy,” she sighed.

“Spy? What spy?” he asked confused.

“That’s the classified information, baka,” she rolled her eyes. “The third Hokage placed a spy among the Akatsuki. I only know who it is because, as I said, Lady Tsunade needed my help tending to him. Now, here’s my plan…”

When they had solidified their course of action, the two of them made their way to the headmaster’s office. They gave the password, which they knew because Dumbledore had given them a list at the beginning of the year, to the gargoyle and ascended the winding staircase. Naruto rapped three times on the oak door and they entered the office once they heard the quiet ‘come in’.

Dumbledore sat behind his massive desk, absentmindedly stroking a strange looking bird perched on his shoulder. He looked up when they entered, a faint look of surprise on his face.

“What can I do for the two of you this evening?” he motioned for them to take a seat. “Can I interest either of you in a Lemon Drop?”

“No, thank you,” Sakura shook her head. “We are here on business.”

“Oh?” the headmaster peered at her over his half-moon spectacles.

“We have to go home for a short period of time,” she explained. “Something has come up that needs our immediate attention.”

“Ah,” the old man nodded. “How long shall all of you be gone?”

“It’s not all of us,” Naruto shook his head. “Just Sakura and I need to go.”

“Can you tell me why?” he asked curiously.

“It’s classified Konoha information, we can’t even tell Gaara of our mission,” Sakura leveled him with a stern look. “But we need your help in getting home as soon as possible.”

Dumbledore turned to face the bird on his shoulder, “Fawkes shall take you. How long shall the two of you be gone?”

“It shouldn’t take more than a few hours, depending on how long it takes us to find someone,” the kunoichi eyed the bird warily. “We need to be taken to the Valley of the End, or near enough.”

“Very well,” Dumbledore nodded. “Fawkes, please take these two to their destination and bring them back safely.”

The bird trilled in response and flew over to the two shinobi, hovering above them expectantly.

“Take his tail,” the headmaster commanded quietly. “He shall do as you requested and take you to your destination. Please return safely, I would hate to have to inform Tsunade that I have lost two of her finest.”

The two of them beamed at him, it was high time he realized they were the best. Naruto reached out and grasped the bird’s tail with one hand, extending the other to his female companion. Sakura grabbed his hand and the three of them disappeared in a burst of flames.

888888 (AN: The majority of what’s said here is in Japanese, so for this section the reverse is in effect so “Blah” is now English until next break.)

They landed in another wave of flames. Naruto managed to keep his feet, and, by grabbing Sakura around the waist, kept her up as well. They looked around warily, their senses on high alert since they were now back in familiar territory, and a dangerous one at that. Naruto jumped slightly as Fawkes landed lightly on his shoulder.

“You know I really hate this place,” the blond looked out at the two stone statues on either side of a wide river and cascading waterfall.

“I know, Naruto,” Sakura placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “But this is the area our spy was last reported to be headed.”

“Are you going to tell me who this spy is?” Naruto cocked his head to the side. “Or should I just take up guessing?”

“You’ll know soon enough, if you are meant to anyway,” she shook her head. “I don’t want you to fly off the handle, so please follow my lead.”

“Alright,” he huffed. “Let’s get going. Wait a minute,” he bit his lip as he looked at her. “We forgot to change out of the school clothes.”

“Shit,” Sakura bit her lip. “We’ll have to transform them into our regular clothing.”

“But I don’t have my mask,” Naruto looked at her in disbelief.

“It’s alright,” she smiled. “In fact, it’s better that you don’t. Now come on.”

They made a quick hand sign and they were both in their ninja gear. They pulled their headbands out of their pockets and fastened them around their heads. They masked their chakra signatures as well, just to be safe.

The kunoichi nodded and headed off toward the treeline. After about half an hour of aimless wandering, jumping from tree to tree, they sensed a faint chakra signature. Naruto knew it was familiar, but couldn’t place it. Sakura held up her arm and halted his progress.

“Naruto, I need you to give the ANBU signal asking if it’s all clear,” she whispered.

He nodded and quickly jumped into a separate tree and gave a faint hoot like an owl, followed by several clicks and another hoot. Naruto returned to where he’d left Sakura.

“We have thirty minutes,” he whispered, motioning her to a clearing just up ahead. “After you,” he bowed dramatically.

Emerald eyes rolled in annoyance, but she did as she was instructed. She was the one who knew this person after all. Once in the clearing, the pinkette jumped down, making sure that Naruto didn’t follow at the moment. There was no one visible, but as ninja, they knew that looks could be deceiving.

A moment passed, but Sakura remained steadfast in her position. She had no weapons out, showing she was being peaceful at the moment. Another minute was slipping away when a shadow emerged from the trees.

“You are not an ANBU,” the figure said quietly. “How did you know the signal?”

“I didn’t, don’t,” she shook her head. “I have an ANBU captain in the trees.”

“Call him down,” the figure commanded.

She nodded and waved for Naruto to join her. The blond landed gracefully by her side and stared at the shadowy figure, which was staring back intently, he could feel it. He had to admit, their spy was good. He had now completely masked his chakra from them.

“Where is your mask, Naruto?” the figure asked. “For you to be without it tells me this is not an official meeting.”

“Well technically, it’s not,” he shrugged. “But that doesn’t matter. What we have to say is too important to bother with formalities.”

“I see,” the figure nodded. “Since you do not have permission from the Hokage to know who I am, I shall remain here. Tell me what you wish to and be off.”

“You could be nicer about it,” Sakura glared at the figure.

“I don’t answer to either of you,” he shook his head. “Now tell me what you want from me.”

“Have the Akatsuki received word from a man called Voldemort?” Naruto asked, knowing ANBU procedure enough to know he wasn’t going to know who the spy was at the moment.

“This morning,” the figure nodded. “We were called back to discuss the situation. My partner and I were just on our way back for said meeting.”

“I see,” the blond sighed. “Well, Sakura, this was your plan, so tell the man what you have in mind.”

“We need you to keep the Akatsuki here,” the kunoichi locked gazes with the spy. “We can’t have them joining Voldemort, it would compromise a mission we are on and could plunge the world into utter darkness.”

“Why should we care about what this man does or does not do?” the figure asked blandly. “He cannot affect us here.”

“That’s where I believe you are wrong,” Sakura shook her head. “From what I’ve heard, this man, Voldemort, will not stop at just taking over the country he now resides in. He is obsessed with power, much as the Akatsuki is, and he will wish to possess all our secrets.”

“I can try,” the man shrugged. “Was there any particular thing you wanted me to tell them to keep them from joining this man?”

 **“Have them follow me,”** Kyuubi chuckled. **“We all know that I’m what those bastards really want.”**

“Tell them you have a lead on the Kyuubi,” Naruto smirked.

 **“Give him something, kit,”** the fox turned serious. **“You have to give him something that he can use to prove he’s seen you, you can’t expect them to only take him at his word.”**

“In fact, here,” he untied his headband and flung it at the man’s feet. “Take them that. Tell them you almost caught me in Kiri. And that you know I’m now planning on heading to Kumo. Lead them on a merry goose chase for me.”

“Clever,” the figure stooped and lifted the headband. “It shall be done.”

With a slight bow, he was gone.

“Why’d you give him that?” Sakura asked incredulously. “You know you can’t go around without your headband.”

“I’ll get another one,” she shrugged. “In fact, I’m going to have to send a report on this little side mission to Grandma Tsunade anyway, so I’ll just ask for it then. Anyway, he needed something to prove he’s seen me, Kyu suggested that. Even though that was the headband Iruka-sensei gave me when I became a Genin, oh well.”

“I guess you’re right,” she sighed. “Alright, let’s get back.”

Naruto looked over at the bird still perched on his shoulder, amazed that it hadn’t left what with all their jumping around, “Can you take us back now?”

Fawkes trilled quietly and extended his tail for them once more. Moments later, all that remained of the two shinobi was a burst of flames.

In the trees, watching them, a pair of red eyes flashed in amusement, “Well played, Naruto.”

888888

After the DA meeting, Kiba walked with Shino back to the common room. It had been quite an enlightening endeavor, but there was something bothering the dog ninja. He couldn’t let it slide either, not when so many people would be hurt by him not stepping in. So as soon as they reached Gryffindor tower, he cornered Neji. The pale eyed teen needed to see some sense and he wasn’t going to get out of it.

“Kiba, what is the meaning of this?” the Hyuuga asked quietly, not wanting to draw attention to them.

“We need to talk, Hyuuga,” the canine ninja’s eyes flashed dangerously.

“About?”

“Naruto,” Shino answered for his boyfriend, knowing what was going through the other’s mind, as it had also been on his.

“You can’t keep this up,” Kiba growled. “You’re going to end up hurting him. I won’t stand for that.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Neji looked confused. “I would never dream of hurting Naruto.”

“So he knows what he’s gotten into?” the shaggy haired brunet asked, holding the Hyuuga’s gaze. “He knows that once this mission is over, so are you and he, right?”

“What do you mean?” the prodigy shook his head. “I would never do that to Naruto, I care too much about him for this to be just a fling.”

“You say you care,” Shino sighed. “But if you cared enough, you wouldn’t have started something you could never see through. Or have you forgotten?”

“Forgotten what?” Neji couldn’t fathom what they were talking about.

“Oh shit,” Kiba rolled his eyes. “You did forget. You forgot Hiashi’s plans.”

“Fuck,” the long haired teen sighed, his expression becoming hard. “I did, I have to end this now. I can’t hurt Naruto that way.”

“Or you could tell Hiashi to shove a stick up his ass,” Kiba chuckled. “I know you don’t want to be controlled by him, any more than Hinata does. Naruto is good for you. We’ll help you out, but you have to promise to tell him about the situation, and promise that you won’t hurt him, or you’ll have us to deal with.”

“Not to mention Gaara and Iruka,” Shino put in helpfully.

“I will talk to him,” Neji promised, bowing his head in shame. No matter what the other two said, he would end up hurting Naruto, one way or the other.


	11. The Truth Hurts

Chapter 11: The Truth Hurts

 

In the following weeks, Neji had no chance to talk with his boyfriend alone. It seemed that any time he tried, something, or someone, would interrupt them. It felt like fate was set against him. No, he wouldn’t think that way, he’d given up on fate having control over him years ago. Wasn’t that the whole reason he was with Naruto anyway? He controlled his destiny, not fate or his damned uncle. However, as time passed, he was growing more frustrated and desperate, especially with Kiba and Shino now on his back about talking to their captain.

As the first Quidditch match of the season drew nigh, he thought he saw his chance. He could possibly convince Kankuro and Gaara that they could handle watching their charges, and with the whole school present it seemed his case could be validated.

“Hey, Gaara,” he cornered the redhead the morning of the match, “would it be possible for you and Kankuro to handle things? I need to talk with Naruto.”

However, it appeared the Kazekage didn’t see his logic, “No.”

“What?” the brunet questioned in disbelief. “It should be easy enough. The entire school will be present, no one’s going to attack.”

“I disagree,” Gaara crossed his arms over his chest, his voice brooking no argument. “Dumbledore has stated that it would be the opportune time for someone to try something and make it look like an accident. I need Naruto on this, as well as you. You may take him off for your private talk later.”

“Yes, sir,” Neji sighed in defeat. This was not his day, week, month, take your pick.

888888

As the players made their way to the changing rooms, the shinobi headed out. Gaara and Naruto waited near the lockers, while the others found strategic places to sit in the stands. When he was sure they were alone, the Kazekage turned to look at the blond. Feeling his gaze, Naruto met his stare curiously.

“What Gaara?” he asked.

“I need to talk with you,” the redhead said quietly.

“About?”

“Neji,” he answered, leaning against the wall.

“What about him?” the blond blushed slightly just thinking of the brunet.

“I want you to be careful,” Gaara sighed. “He wants to talk to you. I can tell you have deep feelings for him, in fact you always have, but I’m not sure what his intentions are. I can sense that what he has to tell you is not pleasant.”

“Gaara,” Naruto smiled slightly, “I trust you, you know that. But I think you’re wrong. Neji would never do something to hurt me.”

“You can’t be sure of that,” the Kazekage shook his head. “I know you, I cannot say the same of your lieutenant. He made me nervous earlier when he asked for a private word with you. I gave him a lame excuse about needing both of you here today, but in truth, I just wanted to talk with you beforehand. If he hurts you Naruto…”

“I’m a big boy, Gaara,” the blond smirked, “I think I can look after myself.”

“Naruto,” Gaara closed his eyes and took a deep breath, “I know you think that. But you wear your heart on your sleeve. I would hate to see the Hyuuga drop you like that Uchiha brat did.”

“Aww, Gaara,” Naruto chuckled, “I didn’t realize you still felt that way about me.”

“I don’t,” jade eyes rolled in annoyance. “I just don’t want to see you hurt. That was the main reason we never were.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” the ANBU shook his head. “But trust me on this one, okay? Neji would never intentionally do something to hurt me, unlike Sasuke. And if he does, I’ll let you kill him, okay?”

“Promise?” the Kazekage let out a small chuckle.

“No, you can’t kill my lieutenant,” blue eyes danced in amusement at the sound, having not heard it in more than a year. “But you can make him live to regret it. But seeing as how I don’t think he will, you’ll probably be seriously disappointed.”

“Fair enough,” the redhead nodded, his emotionless mask once again in place.

888888

Harry sat in the changing room, not paying attention to Angelina’s pre-game pep talk. His mind was on the transfer students. He knew something was off about them, but he couldn’t put his finger on precisely what. He agreed with Hermione, not that he would ever tell her that he saw her point of view, but Ron wasn’t at all bothered by them.

He thought back to what had triggered his new level of apprehension around them. It had been the last DA meeting. He had decided to pair them up in different groups as none of them seemed to be able to land a spell on one another. But that hadn’t turned out very well. No one seemed to be able to land a spell on one another. But that hadn’t turned out very well. No one seemed to be able to hit them, as they kept dodging at the last possible moment. The closest anyone had come was when Hermione was paired up with Sakura. The pinkette had hat to jump out of the way of the oncoming spell, which made her hair flutter as it passed within an inch of her.

The really weird thing, however, was the fact that none of the transfer students had fired any spells back. It was as if they were hesitant to even try. They seemed to be focusing only on dodging the spells fired at them. At least when they were paired up together, they appeared to at least attempt the given spells.

He wondered if he could get Hermione to teach him some nonverbal spells. Maybe that way they wouldn’t know what was coming until it was too late, but that was wrong of him, wasn’t it? He didn’t actually want to attack them, did he? No, he decided, he didn’t want to attack them, he just wanted them to put up more of an effort in his lessons. He smiled at the irony of it all, he now realized what his teachers must feel every time someone turned in a half-assed homework assignment.

“It’s time,” said Angelina in a hushed voice, looking at her watch, and effectively breaking Harry’s chain of thought. “C’mon everyone… good luck.”

888888

Up in the stands, the shinobi were watching as the students piled in. They had paired off and were now stationed at the four corners of the stadium.

Naruto watched in fascination as the teams filed onto the field. He had never seen anything as splendid as the seven-man teams in matching uniforms. True, he’d been to full out ANBU meetings before, but this was much different. For one, the excitement of the crowd was similar to that of the Chunin exams, and he couldn’t help but be affected by it; another was the fact that, while ANBU all had the same uniforms, they were dull, not the vibrant shades displayed on the players before him.

He almost laughed out loud when they were commanded to mount their brooms, but it quickly turned to shock as the fourteen of them rose into the air.

“They’re flying!” he hissed to Gaara, who was watching Harry continuously.

“I noticed,” the redhead replied stoically.

“What if something happens while they’re up there?” the blond shook his head. “We won’t be able to reach any of them in time to help them.”

“We each have our ways, Naruto,” the Kazekage sighed. “Kankuro can stop Ron’s fall with his puppeteering, Shino has his bugs, and I have my sand. Every one of our charges is well watched and protected.”

“Where’s your sand, then?” Naruto asked, eyeing his friend suspiciously, noticing the lack of his usual sand-filled gourd.

“Here,” Gaara pulled a small brown scroll out of his pocket and showed it to the ANBU.

Naruto let it drop after that and settled in to watch the breathtaking display before him. He didn’t understand the point of the game, but it was fast paced and worth watching none-the-less. How it ended Naruto wasn’t entirely sure, but he knew it had to do with Harry catching the fluttering gold ball.

What happened after that made him jump the railing and run onto the pitch, followed closely by Gaara, Harry had been knocked off his broom by one of the black balls sent his way by the fat kid, Goyle. They never made it to the boy-who-lived, however, because of the crowd. Not wanting to reveal themselves, they could only watch as Harry and George got into a fist fight with Malfoy, though they were both silently cheering them on.

“I’ve never seen behavior like this—” Madam Hooch was saying, “back up to the castle, both of you, and straight to your Head of House’s office! Go! _Now!_ ”

Harry and George turned on their heels and marched off the pitch, both panting, neither saying a word to each other. Shino discreetly disentangled himself from the crowd and began following them in the shadows. Naruto made a move to do the same but Gaara stopped him with a hand on his arm.

“You stay and speak with Neji,” the redhead said quietly. “I did promise him he could talk with you later. I shall follow him.”

The Kyuubi vessel nodded as the former Shukaku vessel took off after Shino. He waited for a moment and then went in search of his boyfriend, silently fuming about the injustice of it all.

He found Neji in the entrance hall, apparently waiting for him. As soon as he reached him, Naruto started into a rant about his feelings of the match and the fight afterward.

“That’s so not fair,” he threw his hands up. “Harry had a right to defend his family. Malfoy was clearly in the wrong…”

“Naruto,” Neji said quietly, trying to cut him off.

“But no, Harry’s the one that got in trouble for it,” the blond continued, not having heard his boyfriend, or choosing to ignore him. “I would’ve done the same thing if someone had insulted my mother, and I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting her. But, then again, I probably would’ve gone off after someone said something about people I consider family. Imagine if someone had insulted Iruka-sensei, I would rasengan their ass straight to hell, which I happen to know the way to….”

“Naruto!” the Byakugan user shouted, finally catching his captain’s attention. He then went on in a quieter tone, “We need to talk, but not here.”

“Alright,” Naruto nodded. “Lead the way.”

Neji led him to a deserted classroom. He made sure it was actually empty, having use of the Byakugan came in handy at times, and then turned to his boyfriend. Naruto stood beside the door, his head cocked slightly to the side and a curious look on his whiskered face. The brunet had to close his eyes against the adorable picture he made, or he’d never be able to get through what he was about to do.

“Neji?” Naruto took a step forward. “What’s wrong? Gaara told me you wanted to talk to me. I’m sorry I went off like that. I know we haven’t had that much time together recently, but with one thing and another, it just wasn’t possible. Please talk to me, Nej.”

He finally reached the Hyuuga and wrapped his arms around his waist, laying his head on his shoulder. Automatically, Neji’s arms circled around him, returning the embrace.

“You know that I am a member of the Hyuuga branch family,” the brunet began, causing Naruto to pull back slightly.

“If this is about that damn seal, I’ll remove it myself,” the blond scowled. “And if I can’t, Tsunade or Jiraiya could, I know they could.”

“It’s not,” Neji sighed, reluctantly letting his boyfriend go. “But it is about my family. My uncle, the head of the clan, has plans for me. Since we have been here, I had completely forgotten about them. Being with you,” he paused and took a deep breath before continuing, “it’s made me happier than I have been since my father died. But I’m afraid it has to end. I cannot continue, knowing what is in store for me. I am sorry.”

He turned away from the blond and moved toward the door. Before he had gone two paces, Naruto grabbed his arm and turned him back around.

“Neji,” the blond shook his head, “you’re confusing me. If this has to do with that destiny crap again, I’ll kick your ass.”

“It’s not about destiny, not this time,” he looked away, ashamed of the tears pooling in his pale eyes. “I cannot fight my uncle.”

“What are his big plans for you?” the demon vessel demanded, his voice shaking slightly. “Even if I wasn’t your boyfriend, I am your captain, and I have a right to know.”

“He has arranged my marriage, Naruto,” Neji bowed his head. “As soon as I return from this mission I will be required to fulfill my duty to my clan. The only reason I am not already married is the fact that I am an ANBU on your squad. I will be forced to resign my ANBU position and take up my position as head of the clan.”

“Head of the clan?” Naruto’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Isn’t Hinata the rightful heir? Why would he pass her over for you? True, she’s shy as hell and timid, but she’ll make a great leader. And even if he did pass her over, wouldn’t he rather Hannabi be the head of the clan over a branch member?”

“He’s not passing her over,” the brunet sighed. “I am to marry her. As her husband, he is assured of his control over me and my ability. I am the Hyuuga prodigy. He wants the Kekkei Genkai to be strengthened. He believes that any child I sire will have my ability, and with Hinata as my wife, the child would be guaranteed the Byakugan.”

“That’s utter bullshit,” Naruto swore. Hiashi can’t make that decision, not even as head of the clan. It’s illegal.”

“No, it’s not,” Neji shook his head. “Clan marriages are common, especially among the Hyuuga and Uchiha clans. No one has ever fought either Head for the sake of one member’s feelings. It is something I have to live with.”

“No, you don’t,” the blond growled. “You don’t get it. There is a law, written by the Fourth, stating that all marriages have to be consensual, especially between two shinobi (1). He can’t force you to marry her if you don’t want to. However, if you just give up, then yeah, he wins and you marry Hinata, cause she sure as hell isn’t going to argue with her father.”

“How do you know about this law?” the prodigy shook his head. “I have never heard of it before.”

“I’ve wanted to be Hokage since I was seven,” Naruto chuckled. “Anyway, Pervy Sage mentioned it once, and I went and looked it up. The Fourth made that law to stop the inbreeding of the Uchiha and Hyuuga clans, it weakens the line, not necessarily the Kekkei Genkai, but the bloodline itself. If it keeps up, there will be no Byakugan or Sharingan left. As it is the Sharingan is nearly wiped out. Many a good Kekkei Genkai has died out. I know of two that are gone, wiped out by a team I was on, one you were a part of. Yeah, the bonedance was creepy, but it’s completely gone. And the crystal ice mirrors of Haku, he was the last of his line and he died protecting Zabuza.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Neji protested. “You don’t know my uncle, he will push the issue.”

“He can’t, Neji, get that through your thick skull,” the blond sighed. “When you do, come find me. Until then, leave me alone.”

Without another word, Naruto turned and left the room. Neji watched him go, but did nothing to stop him. He couldn’t. No matter what Naruto said, the fact remained that he was destined to marry his cousin when the mission ended, Hiashi would see to it.

888888

As Harry left McGonagall’s office, he sighed, he’d never had such a bad day in his life. He’d just been banned from Quidditch, the one thing that made his life bearable. He sighed again as he rounded a corner, making his way toward Gryffindor tower. But before he’d gotten far, a hand shot out and dragged him into an unused classroom.

Harry found himself pinned against a wall, staring into the pale eyes of his attacker. His breath quickened drastically as he recognized the pointed, pale face of Draco Malfoy. He’d been fixed up, undoubtedly by Madam Pomfrey. But the thing that gave Harry pause was the fact that there seemed to be no maliciousness in Malfoy’s eyes or expression.

“Potter,” he said quietly, “I’m not going to attack you, but if I let you go will you promise to hear me out?”

Harry nodded, not sure what to make of the Slytherin’s strange behavior. Draco released him and moved to sit on one of the desks, eyeing the Gryffindor critically.

“First, I’d like to apologize, I should never have said that about your mother, or Weasley’s, but we both know I’m a sore loser,” Malfoy shook his head.

“Whoa, hold the phone,” Harry held up his hand. “Did you just apologize to me? We’ve been at each other’s throats since the day we met. You’ve never apologized before, why start now?”

“I’ve had a change of heart,” the blond shrugged. “Anyway, the main reason I pulled you in here was to send a message to Granger. Tell her, they aren’t coming, they’ve had a lead on a bijuu. And if you could, tell her to meet me here in half an hour, I’ll explain more then. You and Weasley are welcome to come along, tell her I said it was okay.”

“And why would she be willing to meet with you?” the brunet asked in confusion. “All you’ve ever done to her is insult her.”

“She’ll come,” Malfoy nodded confidently. “Especially if you tell her what I just said. Her curiosity is insatiable when it comes to the Hidden Ninja Communities.”

“You know about the Hidden Ninja Community?” Harry asked dubiously.

“I’ll explain once you get Granger and Weasley, I don’t want to have to repeat myself,” Malfoy’s eyes hardened.

“Fine,” the brunet threw up his hands in surrender. “Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be back shortly.”

He left the room and made his way up to Gryffindor tower. He managed to slip up to his dormitory without being noticed and grabbed his Invisibility Cloak, he didn’t want people to get suspicious if he returned to the room Draco was currently hiding in. He returned to the common room, donned in the cloak, and spotted Hermione sitting in her favorite chair next to the fire. He made his way over, being careful not to run into anyone, and knelt down beside her.

“Hermione,” he whispered. “Don’t make a scene, I’m under the Invisibility Cloak.”

She nodded almost imperceptibly and continued with her homework.

“Malfoy sent a message,” he continued quietly, making sure no one was paying them any attention. “He said they aren’t coming, and something about a bijuu.”

“He told you that?” she muttered, pretending to grab something from her bag which was right beside Harry.

“Yeah, he also said Ron and I could come along, he wants to meet with you in half an hour,” Harry replied.

“Alright, I’ll find Ron and meet you there,” she scowled down at her parchment. “Where exactly is there?”

“The unused classroom a floor down,” he reached out and placed his hand on her knee, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I don’t know what this is about, but I trust you, Hermione.”

She smiled vaguely and nodded, “Thank you, Harry.”

With another squeeze, he pushed to his feet and headed back out the portrait hole. He passed Naruto right outside, but the blond was distracted and didn’t seem to care that the portrait had swung open of its own volition, as he was muttering to himself about ‘damn Hyuugas and their fucking pride’ and something about interfering foxes too, but Harry wasn’t too sure about that comment. He shook his head and headed back to where Malfoy was waiting.

As he slipped inside the room, he found himself with a wand pointed at his chest. He froze, not knowing what Malfoy was playing at, forgetting completely about him being invisible. Malfoy’s pale eyes darted around the point where his face was and that’s when Harry remembered he was still under the Invisibility Cloak.

“Whoever you are, you will leave at once,” the Slytherin said, his voice calm and deadly serious. “I have business here, approved by the High Inquisitor, and will brook no interference.”

“I see how it is,” Harry snapped, removing the cloak from his head. “You were just playing me for a fool. I should never have trusted you. You’re just going to get Ron, Hermione, and me in trouble with Umbridge. You’re despicable.”

“Harry,” Malfoy lowered his wand and grabbed the Gryffindor before he could make a retreat. “I didn’t realize it was you. How could I, you’re invisible. I came up with that to keep others out. I know Umbridge would back me if asked. My father’s position, or should I say money, ensures that the Ministry will do anything to keep me happy. I didn’t lie to you, and I’m not here to make a fool out of any of you.”

He tugged on Harry’s arm, causing the brunet to stumble over the cloak and crash into Malfoy’s chest. On instinct the blond’s arms circled around him to steady them both.

“Are we interrupting something?” Hermione’s amused voice came from the doorway.

Harry turned his head and noticed his best friends standing there. Ron’s mouth was hanging open incredulously, while Hermione bit her lip, trying to refrain from laughing. Harry quickly pulled away from Malfoy and blushed furiously. It was bad enough that he’d had to kiss the git, thanks to Gaara, but now, what must his friends be thinking?

“If you’re through trying to make a pass at my friend, Malfoy,” Hermione smirked, “I’d like to discuss the information you’ve received.”

Both Harry and Ron gaped at the witch. Did she just make a joke with Malfoy?

“Oh, close your mouths, boys,” Hermione rolled her eyes and took a seat at the nearest desk. “So, Malfoy, what did your father have to say?”

“Before we get to that,” the Slytherin slid into the desk across from her, “I believe we owe your friends an explanation.”

“You’re probably right,” the witch sighed. “Go ahead, it’s your choice.”

Ron finally found his voice, “Please, just tell me you’re not snogging Malfoy. I can handle anything, as long as you’re not his girlfriend.”

“No,” Hermione and Malfoy said simultaneously, sharing a knowing look.

“I’m not his type,” Hermione giggled, which caused the blond to shoot her a pointed look.

“Have a seat and I shall explain,” Malfoy waved sanctimoniously to the two seats beside Hermione. Once they were seated, he continued, “A few weeks ago, my father was given a task by the Dark Lord, to seek the aid of a certain group from the Hidden Ninja Communities; an organization known as Akatsuki. I sought out Granger’s help because I didn’t know enough about the Ninja to know about this group, and she had the only scroll the school had on the subject.”

“So what is this Akatsuki thing?” Harry asked, looking expectantly at Malfoy. “And why does Voldemort want their help?”

“It’s a group of S-class criminals,” Hermione answered. “You know what I said about that specific classification. And that should answer your second question as well.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter,” Malfoy shook his head. “They aren’t coming. My father said that while he was there he heard one of them tell the leader about a lead they got on a bijuu, and they all set out to catch it.”

“That’s a pretty fortunate coincidence,” Harry scowled. “But what’s a bijuu anyway?”

“It’s a tailed demon,” it was, amazingly enough, Ron who answered, causing the other three to look at him curiously.

“How did you know that?” Malfoy asked incredulously. “I didn’t even know that.”

“Bill heard about them when he first started working in Egypt,” Ron scratched his head. “One of the guys he was working with had to deal with one in Japan, a nine-tailed fox, I believe. But you’d remember something like that too if Fred and George kept telling you that if you didn’t do what they said they’d make you into a jinchuuriki.”

“And that is?” Hermione looked at him expectantly.

“A human sacrifice, that’s what it translates to anyway,” the redhead shook his head. “But it’s basically a host for the bijuu. They only stopped when Mum found out about it.”

888888

Outside the door, Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari loitered, eavesdropping with ease leaned over the years.

“That’s not good,” Temari bit her lip. “I knew that Malfoy’s dad was going to the Akatsuki…”

“You did?” Kankuro looked at her aghast.

“Yeah, Sakura and I overheard the first conversation he had with Hermione,” she waved her hand dismissively. “Sakura said she had a plan. But what this about a bijuu?”

“Naruto,” Gaara said quietly. “It’s the only possibility. Kyuubi’s the only one that I know of that they haven’t captured yet.”

“We’re gonna have to warn him,” the brunet shook his head.

“Possibly,” Gaara’s look was contemplative. “It could be one of Tsunade’s leads. But if they figure out he’s here…” he let the sentence hang.

“We’re in deep shit,” Kankuro finished for him.

“We’ve got to tell him,” the kunoichi shook her head. “Our cover could be blown if they show up here.”

“Ya think, Temari?” the puppeteer rolled his eyes. “I would personally be less worried about cover, and more worried about saving my own ass at that point.”

Temari smacked him over the head, “If our cover is blown, our honor’s on the line, as well as our asses. Think about it?”

“If it comes to the Akatsuki, our honor to this mission doesn’t matter,” the Kazekage sighed. “We are not to risk our lives to salvage our honor at that point. Our honor to our own world and our companions means more than a scrapped mission for an old fool.”

The blonde nodded in resignation, “True.”

“So do we tell the runt or not?” Kankuro asked.

“I shall talk with him about it myself,” the redhead nodded to the other two.

“Hai!” the two ANBU said together.


	12. Gamekeepers

Chapter 12: Gamekeepers

 

When the three Gryffindors returned to the tower, they sat down beside the fire, all of them thinking about the strange events of the day. Ron and Harry once again fell into depression over Quidditch, while Hermione was pouring over her scroll, but not finding out anything new, or useful. Finally, she rolled it up with a sigh.

“Well,” said Hermione, her voice trembling slightly. “I can think of one thing that might cheer you both up.”

“Oh yeah?” said Harry skeptically.

“Yeah,” said Hermione, turning away from the pitch-black, snow-flecked window, a broad smile spreading across her face. “Hagrid’s back.”

Harry sprinted up to the boys’ dormitory to fetch his Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder’s Map from his trunk, grateful that no one appeared to be awake and Gaara was nowhere in sight; he was so quick that he and Ron were ready to leave at least five minutes before Hermione hurried back down from the girls’ dormitories, wearing scarf, gloves, and one of her knobbly elf hats.

“Well, its cold out there!” she said defensively, as Ron clicked his tongue impatiently.

They crept through the portrait hole and covered themselves hastily in the cloak—Ron had grown so much he now needed to crouch to prevent his feet showing—then, moving slowly and cautiously, they proceeded down the many staircases, pausing at intervals to check the map for signs of Filch and Mrs. Norris. They were lucky; they saw nobody but Nearly Headless Nick, who was gliding along absentmindedly humming something that sounded horribly like “Weasley Is Our King.” They crept across the entrance hall and then out into the silent, snowy grounds. None of them noticed a lone figure sitting on the roof above the front door, his eyes following their tracks in the snow. With a great leap of his heart, Harry saw little golden squares of light ahead and smoke coiling up from Hagrid’s chimney. He set off at a quick march, the other two jostling and bumping along behind him, and they crunched excitedly through the thickening snow until at last they reached the wooden front door; when Harry raised his fist and knocked three times, a dog started barking frantically inside.

“Hagrid, it’s us!” Harry called through the keyhole.

“Shoulda known!” said a gruff voice.

They beamed at one another under his cloak; they could tell that Hagrid’s voice was pleased. “Bin home three seconds… Out of the way, Fang… _Out of the way_ , yeh dozy dog…”

The bolt was drawn back, the door creaked open, and Hagrid’s head appeared in the gap.

Hermione screamed. Behind them, unheard underneath the scream, came a surprised gasp at the sheer size of the man in the doorway.

“Merlin’s beard, keep it down!” said Hagrid hastily, staring wildly over their heads, not noticing the figure hiding in the shadows of his hut, “Under the cloak, are yeh? Well, get in, get in!”

“I’m sorry!” Hermione gasped, as the three of them squeezed past Hagrid into the house and pulled the cloak off themselves so he could see them. “I just—oh, _Hagrid_!”

“It’s nuthin’, it’s nuthin’!” said Hagrid hastily, shutting the door behind them and hurrying to close all the curtains, but Hermione continued to gaze at him in horror.

“Damn,” the figure outside swore softly, while unbeknownst to the four people in the hut a small trickle of sand slid in under the door and began forming into an eye in the corner. The figure sat down under the window, holding two of his fingers over his left eye.

Hagrid’s hair was matted with congealing blood, and his left eye had been reduced to a puffy slit amid a mass of purple-and-black bruises. There were many cuts on his face and hands, some of them still bleeding, and he was moving gingerly, which made Harry suspect broken ribs. It was obvious that he had only just got home; a thick black traveling cloak lay over the back of a chair and a haversack large enough to carry several small children leaned against the wall inside the door. Hagrid himself, twice the size of a normal man and three times as broad, was now limping over to the fire and placing a copper kettle over it.

“What happened to you?” Harry demanded, while Fang danced around them all, trying to lick their faces.

“Told yeh, _nuthin’_ ,” said Hagrid firmly. “Want a cuppa?”

They proceeded to pester the half-giant until he explained to them what had happened on his trip. When his story came to a rather bad close, there was a series of sharp raps on the door. All of them looked toward the portal in horror.

“If you refuse us entrance, we’ll be forced to break down this door,” a deep male voice called from the other side.

“Oh my god,” Hermione gasped, her mug slipped through her fingers and smashed on the floor, “it’s the temporary game and grounds keepers. I’d completely forgotten about them.”

“Get under here!” Harry said quickly; seizing the Invisibility Cloak he whirled it over himself and Hermione while Ron tore around the table and dived beneath the cloak as well. Huddled together they backed away into a corner. Fang was barking madly at the door. Hagrid looked thoroughly confused.

“Hagrid, hide our mugs!”

Hagrid seized Harry’s and Ron’s mugs and shoved them under the cushion in Fang’s basket. Fang was now leaping up at the door; Hagrid pushed him out of the way with his foot and pulled it open.

Kakashi and Iruka surveyed the man before them casually. Neither seemingly surprised to see him, or apparently by his stature and state. Beside them, with his head bowed low, stood Gaara. The trio looked at the three of them in confusion.

“Sorry to bother you,” Iruka smiled slightly. “We just saw lights on and figured we’d check it out. Iruka Umino, this is my companion, Kakashi Hatake.”

“Yo,” Kakashi waved cheerfully.

“An’ him?” Hagrid pointed at the redhead.

“We caught him loitering outside your window,” Iruka shrugged. “We figured we’d escort him back up to the school as soon as we figured out what was going on here.”

“Rubeus Hagrid,” the half-giant extended his hand, shaking each one in turn, nearly wrenching poor Gaara’s arm out of socket with his exuberance. “Keeper of keys and grounds at Hogwarts, as well as Care of Magical Creatures professor.”

“Ah,” the brunet nodded. “I see. We were asked to fill in for you while you were away, I’m glad to see you returned safely from your trip.”

“Can we come in?” Kakashi cut off anything Hagrid might say in reply.

“O’ course,” Hagrid moved aside, allowing them into his hut.

“Gaara, sit,” Iruka led him forcefully over to a chair and pushed him down.

The Kazekage just rolled his eyes, not sure why he let those two rope him into their scheme. Kakashi and Iruka took a seat on either side of him, while Hagrid sat down opposite them.

“Tea?” he offered, pulling out three fresh mugs.

“That would be most appreciated,” Iruka smiled bemusedly.

Just as they all settled in with their tea, there was a sudden outburst of rapping on the door, which set Fang off again. Hagrid went over and opened the door.

Professor Umbridge was standing in the doorway wearing her green tweed cloak and matching hat with earflaps. Lips pursed, she leaned back to see Hagrid’s face; she barely reached his navel.

“ _So_ ,” she said slowly and loudly, as though speaking to somebody deaf. “You’re Hagrid, are you?”

Without waiting for an answer, she strolled into the room, her bulging eyes rolling in every direction.

“Get away,” she snapped, waving her handbag at Fang, who had bounded up to her and was attempting to lick her face.

“Er—I don’ want ter be rude,” said Hagrid, staring at her, “but who the ruddy hell are you?”

“My name is Dolores Umbridge.”

Her eyes were sweeping the cabin. Twice they stared directly into the corner where Harry stood, sandwiched between Ron and Hermione. Though she didn’t seem to notice the three men still seated at the table.

“Dolores Umbridge?” Hagrid said, sounding thoroughly confused. “I thought you were one o’ them Ministry—don’ you work with Fudge?”

“I was Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, yes,” said Umbridge, now pacing around the cabin, taking in every tiny detail within, from the haversack against the wall to the abandoned traveling cloak, but still not the other three occupants. “I am now the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher—”

“That’s brave of yeh,” said Hagrid, “there’s not many’d take tha’ job anymore—”

“—and Hogwarts High Inquisitor,” said Umbridge, giving no sign that she had heard him.

“Wha’s that?” said Hagrid, frowning.

“Precisely what I was going to ask,” said Umbridge, pointing at the broken shards of china on the floor that had been Hermione’s mug.

“Oh,” said Hagrid, with a most unhelpful glance toward the corner where Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood hidden, “oh, tha’ was… was Fang. He broke a mug. So I had ter use this one instead.”

Hagrid pointed to the mug from which he had been drinking, one hand still clamped over the dragon steak pressed to his eye. Umbridge stood facing him now, taking in every detail of his appearance instead of the cabin’s.

“I heard voices,” she said quietly.

“I was talkin’ ter Fang,” said Hagrid stoutly, not having remembered the shinobi.

“And was he talking back to you?”

“Well… in a manner o’ speakin’,” said Hagrid, looking uncomfortable. “I sometimes say Fang’s near enough human—”

“There are three sets of footprints in the snow leading from the castle doors to your cabin,” said Umbridge sleekly.

“That would’ve been us,” Kakashi leaned back in his chair, finally catching the toad-like woman’s attention. “Iruka and I noticed someone was in here, and as it is our job to take care of the grounds, we thought we’d check it out and then report to the Headmaster.”

“And the third set?” she hid her surprise at seeing them there.

“Mine,” Gaara answered in a monotone.

“And why are you, a student, out of bounds, or even out of bed, this late at night?”

“I don’t sleep,” he shrugged.

“We apprehended him outside the cabin,” Iruka rubbed the back of his neck. “We were going to take him to the Headmaster after we looked into the disturbance here.”

“I shall take him up to the castle when I leave,” she eyed the two men, daring them to contradict her. Receiving none, she turned back and began questioning the half-giant once more.

Harry listened to the conversation between Hagrid and Umbridge but his eyes were locked on the three shinobi. He watched them as they communicated in their native tongue.

“I shall go with her,” Gaara said calmly. “But I need the both of you to look after our charges.”

“We’ll be sure to keep a good eye on them,” Kakashi ran a finger over his eye-patch, seeming to rub it in irritation.

Harry had to quickly stifle a gasp as Gaara looked straight in their direction. The redhead stared for a moment and then turned back to the other two.

“They are in the corner,” he replied stoically. “I’m sure they shall reveal themselves before either of you leave, especially if you continue the jutsu.”

“Of course we will,” Iruka shook his head. “You have about as much faith in us as Naruto, and we were his senseis.”

“Oh yes,” Harry quickly tuned back in to what Umbridge was saying. “The Ministry is determined to weed out unsatisfactory teachers, Hagrid. Good night. Mr. Sabaku, if you please.”

Gaara pushed to his feet slowly and preceded her out the door. She left, closing the door behind her with a snap. Harry made to pull off the Invisibility Cloak but Hermione seized his wrist. Even though he’d been watching them, he seemed to forget that the other two men were still there.

“Not yet,” Hermione breathed in his ear. “She might not be gone yet.”

Hagrid seemed to be thinking the same way; he stumped across the room and pulled back the curtain an inch or so.

“She’s goin’ back ter the castle,” he said in a low voice. “Blimey… inspectin’ people is she?”

“Yeah,” said Harry, pulling the cloak off. “Trelawney’s on probation already…”

“Nice cloak you’ve got there, Potter,” Kakashi chuckled, raising his hand to his masked mouth.

“Uh… shit!” the raven haired teen’s eyes widened comically as they fell on the two foreign men.

“You’ve been hanging around Naruto too much,” Iruka shook his head sadly. “I swear that boy could use a good talking to.”

“Come off it, Ruka,” Kakashi stretched lazily. “If it wasn’t for his foot going into his mouth at every turn, he’d be rather boring. You’re just too uptight. I can fix that for you.” He winked suggestively at the younger Chunin.

“Poor Gaara,” Hermione passed nervous glances at the two senseis, deciding she didn’t like where this conversation was heading. “He’s stuck with the old toad.”

“‘Poor Gaara’ she says,” the silver haired Jounin chuckled ruefully. “I’d say poor you. You’ve been caught, what was it that toad said, ‘out of bounds and bed at this hour’? Consider yourselves lucky we decided to cover for you. It won’t happen again, just be grateful Gaara decided to be helpful.”

“Kakashi,” the brunet rolled his eyes. “Of course it won’t happen again. Besides these three probably learning their lesson,” he shot them a pointed look, “we’re leaving tonight. Hagrid is back, we’re no longer welcome on the grounds.”

“I’m sure that’s not true!” Hermione looked aghast, Dumbledore wouldn’t be that heartless.

“Ah, but you see, it is,” Kakashi shrugged and pulled a bright orange book from his pocket. “Our contract states that we are to stay until such a time as the prior gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid, returns.”

“Is that your contract?” Harry tried to contain his laughter. “Or did Naruto actually let you borrow his book? And if he did, I’m jealous, I’ve asked to read it for weeks now.”

“No, that’s his book,” Iruka shook his head sadly. “And if you can ever find him without it, then I’d suggest running for your lives.”

“So where will you go?” Hermione asked, disregarding the book altogether, which for her was highly unusual. “Will you go home? I’m sure Naruto and the others would miss you if you did.”

“No, we’ll be staying in Hogsmeade,” the silver haired man said, not taking his eyes from his book. “Iruka has been made temporary guardian of Naruto and the Sand… Ow!”

Iruka had slapped him over the head, “I’m currently acting as Naruto and the Sabaku children’s guardian, as they are all orphans. So, as such, we cannot return home until the term ends.”

“I see,” the witch nodded, filing away the jounin’s slip for examination later. “Um… what sort of things are you planning to do with us in class, Hagrid?”


	13. Talking Sense

Chapter 13: Talking Sense

 

The next day, Gaara had a detention with Umbridge, though he refused to tell anyone why. The trio knew, of course, but none of the shinobi did. Kiba and Shino were preparing to head outside, along with Kankuro and Temari, the four of them having never had the opportunity to play in the snow before. Neji hadn’t been seen since breakfast and Naruto was sitting quietly by the fire, which in and of itself caused the other shinobi to take notice. They had decided to let Sakura handle it, as she was the closest one to Naruto at the moment.

She waited till they were relatively alone, only Harry and Ron remained in the common room, before approaching her former teammate.

“What’s wrong, Naruto?” she asked quietly, laying her hand on her shoulder.

“Huh?” he looked up, apparently he had been thinking too hard to notice her until she touched him.

“Talk to me, Naruto,” she smiled encouragingly. “Tell me what’s bothering you.”

“Oh, it’s Neji,” he shook his head.

“What did he do?” the pinkette asked, cracking her knuckles menacingly. “If he hurt you, I’ll punch his face in.”

“He didn’t,” Naruto sighed. “Not really, considering I was the one who broke up with him.”

“Oh, Naruto,” Sakura pulled him into a hug. “Can you tell me why? What happened?”

“I’m sorry, Sakura,” he smiled slightly, returning the embrace. “I won’t betray him like that, it’s between us at the moment. If he feels like telling you, that’s up to him.”

“Well then, I think I should go have a word with him,” she nodded firmly, leaving no room for the blond to argue.

Sakura got up and left for her dormitory. She returned moments later, draped in a cloak, one Naruto would’ve recognized if he’d been paying attention as the one she had received from their mission to the Land of Snow. With a slight backward glance at her obviously broken teammate, she left the tower.

Naruto had gone back to looking at the flames, but in truth, he wasn’t seeing anything. He had delved deep into his mind and had been curled up with the Kyuubi ever since he returned to Gryffindor tower the previous evening. The only reason he wasn’t still in bed was because the stupid fox had forced him to at least pretend to do something.

 **“Kit, you can’t keep this up,”** Kyuubi sighed, wrapping his long tails around the small blond figure. **“You’ve got more important things to do than sulk in here with me.”**

‘I can’t, Kyu,’ Naruto sobbed. ‘I can’t face them. I can’t face _him_. I just can’t do it.’

 **“Listen here, brat,”** the fox growled, he couldn’t stand to see his vessel like this, so broken. **“You have a mission to complete! You can’t do that from inside my cage.”**

‘I don’t care anymore,’ he tried to burrow deeper into the demon, trying to hide.

 **“Naruto Uzumaki!”** this caught the human’s attention, never before had the demon called him by his given name. **“If you think I’m just going to sit here and let you give up on everything you’ve ever dreamed, you’ve got another thing coming. So what if Hyuuga’s confused? So what if he never comes back to you? The Uchiha brat left you too! Do you think he’s coming back anytime soon? Doubtful! But did that ever stop you? No! I won’t let you give up on your dream of becoming Hokage just because some stupid boy broke your heart. What happened to that stubborn determination to never give up? What happened to the human I came to respect? Do you think I would’ve helped you so much if I didn’t believe in you? I have adopted you as my kit, now get out there and show them that you deserve to be treated as such.”**

‘But…’ Naruto finally looked up at the irate fox.

 **“No buts, Uzumaki,”** Kyuubi shook his head. **“Neither one of us chose to be in this situation, that was decided by your dear Fourth Hokage, but both of us have made what we can out of it. Now hold your head up and show them all why I chose you as my kit.”**

‘Thanks, Kyu, I needed that,’ the blond hugged him one last time and then withdrew from the cage.

888888

When she left the tower, Sakura made a half-hearted search for the prodigal Hyuuga, but she was more determined to speak with the others at the moment. She found them on the grounds. Temari and Kankuro were busy throwing snowballs at one another, while Kiba was wrestling around with Akamaru, Shino, it seemed, was more interested in watching his boyfriend’s antics than actually joining in any of the activities. However, when they spotted the medic approaching, they all stopped and moved closer to speak with her.

“So what’s wrong with the squirt?” Kankuro asked, rubbing his hands together, trying to return some warmth to them.

“He broke up with Neji,” the pinkette sighed. “He wouldn’t give me any details, said if I wanted them to talk with Neji.”

“Why would he do that?” Temari scowled. “It’s not like Naruto to give up on someone. Maybe Hyuuga was cheating on him? Ooh, maybe Malfoy entered the picture and stole his affections, you remember how he said he liked Naruto?”

“That’s not like Naruto though,” Sakura sighed again. “He doesn’t give up on someone easily, Neji had to have done something big.”

At her words, Kiba stiffened. His fists clenched at his side as he stared between the two oblivious girls. It wasn’t their fault they didn’t know what was really going on, it’s not like either of them were especially close to any of the Hyuugas.

“And Malfoy’s out of the picture,” she continued, oblivious to the dog ninja’s state, “he’s not Naruto’s type, it would be a constant reminder of Sasuke.”

“Akamaru!” Kiba snapped out of his reverie, causing the others to look at him startled.

The pup bounded over to his master and sat at attention, awaiting orders.

“Go get Iruka, tell him Naruto’s in trouble,” the brunet commanded.

The dog yipped and took off toward the gates of Hogwarts. The other shinobi watched as the small dog jumped the gate with a graceful leap. When he was out of sight, Sakura turned to the dog shinobi.

“Why did you do that, _baka_?” she snapped. “Now Iruka-sensei’s going to come up here all worried about Naruto.”

“That is the point,” Shino answered for his boyfriend. “With Iruka in a rage, it will be easier to handle Neji. Kiba, I expect you to handle this on your own.” He turned to the other three, “Come.”

Without another word, he took off across the grounds. Kankuro followed without question, but Temari and Sakura waited a few minutes, looking at Kiba in confusion.

“Go,” he waved them off. “I’ll handle it.”

They had no choice but to follow the two boys away. But they didn’t bother to catch up with them. Temari could tell Naruto’s state was bothering her teammate. She wanted desperately to comfort the pinkette but wasn’t sure how.

“Sakura?” she placed her hand tentatively on the other kunoichi’s shoulder.

She expected some sort of reaction from her teammate but what she wasn’t prepared for, however, was for the pink-haired girl to throw her arms around her neck and begin sobbing into her shoulder. To say she was shocked by this behavior would be a complete understatement. She was at a loss as to what to do, her brothers, while reliant on her for their emotional traumas, never broke down on her. Ever so gently, Temari gathered the crying teen into her arms and began running her hands in small circles on her back.

“Shh,” she said softly, trying to calm down her companion. “What’s all this about? Come on, talk to Temari.”

“I can’t stand it,” Sakura sniffed into Temari’s shoulder. “I can’t let him get hurt again. He’s like a brother to me, annoying at times, but still a brother.”

“Sakura,” the Sand kunoichi lifted the pinkette’s chin, “take it from someone who had two brothers, they’re all annoying at times. But I truly don’t think that’s what has you so worked up. According to what you said, Naruto broke up with Neji, not the other way around.”

“That’s just it, it’s not like him at all,” she shook her head. “I mean, look at what he went through to try and get Sasuke back. He’d never give up on something he believed in, and I know he loves Neji, he has for a long time now. So why did he just quit?”

“There’s something that neither one of us can see,” Temari sighed, absently running her thumb against Sakura’s cheek. “Naruto has his reasons, you know how he is about teaching someone a lesson. Maybe Neji needs this time.’

“You’re probably right, and I’m just overreacting. Thanks, Temari,” the medic stood on tiptoe and placed a kiss on the other kunoichi’s lips.

Before the blonde had time to react, Sakura was pulling away, her eyes wide in shock at her own actions. Her hand rose slowly to her lips and then, without warning, she darted off, following the two boys, leaving Temari standing there.

“So that’s how you want to play it?” the Sand kunoichi smirked. “I’ll play along for now, Sakura. Just know that I always win.”

888888

Iruka was sitting in the main room of the house he and Kakashi had been lent by the Headmaster, reading in front of the fire. He wasn’t too concerned about anything at the moment. He knew that Kakashi had set up several alarms around the perimeter of the school, and Naruto and the others were safely infiltrated inside. However, there was something that had been tickling the back of his mind since the previous evening. He wasn’t sure what it was about, but he was sure to involve Naruto for some odd reason.

“Iruka,” Kakashi sighed as he entered the room, “I’m bored. There’s nothing to do anymore.”

“Honestly, Kakashi, you sound worse than Naruto,” the brunet smirked. “We’ve only been gone from the school since last night and you’re already out of things to do. How do you manage to fill your days off?”

“Well,” he plopped down on the couch next to the younger man, laying down and placing his head in Iruka’s lap, “when I can’t convince the Hokage to give me something to fill my time or my team is on one of their rare days off, I usually read my book. But I finished all the ones I have and Naruto won’t let me borrow his new one.”

“And that’s all you do in your spare time?” the Chunin raised an eyebrow, his eyes never leaving his book.

“No, I also like to spend time with a certain Chunin, but he’s ignoring me at the moment,” Kakashi whined.

“Is that a fact?” Iruka’s lip twitched, trying to fight a smile. “Why don’t you go find a turtle to save or something? I know you always tell the kids some outlandish story like that when you’re late, you’ve even tried to use it on me. So why not fill your time with what usually keeps you from being on time?”

“I can’t,” the Jounin said quietly. “The stone’s back home.”

The brunet tore his eyes away from his page and looked down at his lover, “I’m sorry, Kakashi, I shouldn’t have brought that up.”

“It’s okay, love,” Kakashi reached up and began playing with the Chunin’s hair, which was falling over his shoulder, free of its usual restraint. “Kiss me and I might forgive you.”

Iruka smiled as he placed his book on the table beside him. He then began peeling the mask away from the silver haired man’s face. Kakashi, getting impatient, grabbed his neck and pulled the younger man forward, claiming his mouth in a demanding kiss.

They broke apart when they heard frantic scratching at the door. Kakashi growled as his plan to seduce his lover was now ruined, but slipped his mask back into place and rose to answer the door.

“Akamaru?” the Jounin looked at the dog in confusion. “What are you doing here?”

The dog cocked his head to the side and gave a quick bark before darting into the house. He ran over to Iruka, who was once again reading on the couch, though his book was upside down, and grabbed his pant leg and began pulling, growling as he did.

“Akamaru, what’s gotten into you?” the brunet asked concerned, the pup wasn’t usually like this. “Do you have any idea what he wants, Kakashi?”

“Not a clue,” Kakashi replied, but he was lowering his mask as he said this.

He bit his thumb and his hands flashed through a series of seals, until he finally slammed them down on the floor. A moment later, a brown pug appeared in a puff of smoke.

“Yo,” Pakkun waved. “What’s up, Kakashi?”

“We’d like to know that as well,” the Jounin shook his head. “Akamaru here just showed up and started attacking Iruka’s leg.”

Akamaru broke away from Iruka long enough to exchange a rather rapid dog conversation with the summon. In the end, Pakkun nodded and turned back to Kakashi.

“It seems Kiba sent him to fetch Iruka,” the pug shrugged. “Something about Naruto, and Neji being a _baka_.”

“Alright then,” Iruka pushed to his feet. “I’ll go see what this is about. It shouldn’t take too long, Naruto’s probably up to no good again and just dragged Neji into it.”

Akamaru growled, and Pakkun spoke up, “It’s not about Naruto. It seems Neji’s the one who needs to have the tongue lashing. According to the pup here, Naruto’s sitting quietly in front of the fire, not doing anything.

“Is he sick?” the brunet asked in concern.

“Doubtful,” Kakashi sighed. “He’s probably talking to Kyu about something important, probably about the mission, he’ll be fine.”

“Very well,” the Chunin shook his head. “I’ll leave Naruto be. Come on, Akamaru, let’s go see what we can do about Neji.”

The white dog bounded over to the door and preceded Iruka into the street. Kakashi and Pakkun watched them until they turned the corner to head to the Hogwarts’ gates.

Akamaru and Iruka found Kiba waiting for them by the double doors into the castle. Iruka was slightly confused as to why the dog shinobi had called on him to help with Neji, but he wasn’t going to argue.

“Okay, Akamaru, find Neji for us,” Kiba said, once they were all three together. “I’ll fill you in as we search, Iruka.”

“Alright,” the scarred brunet nodded, falling into step with the younger man as they followed the dog.

“Well,” Kiba bit his lip, “I guess I should let you know, just in case you didn’t already, that Naruto and Neji have been going out for a few months now.”

“I guessed as much,” the Chunin replied.

“Okay,” the ANBU sighed. “Well, apparently, last night Naruto broke it off. We all know that Naruto doesn’t give up on anything easily, but Shino and I think we know why he did it.”

“And what might your theory be?” Iruka asked curiously.

“Well, you see, we, Shino and I that is, know something about Neji that only his family is supposed to be privy to,” Kiba chuckled nervously. “The only reason we know about it is cause we kinda sorta forced it out of Hinata.”

“Are you going to let me in on this tidbit of information,” the older man shook his head, trying not to smile at his old student, “or are you just going to continue trying to justify yourself for knowing said information? I fear the latter will not help in the situation with Naruto.”

“Oh yeah, right,” the dog ninja scratched his head sheepishly. “Anyway, Hinata told us…”

“You switched to Japanese? Why?”

“Well, no one outside the Hyuuga clan is supposed to know this information and, if my theory is correct, the only ones on our squad who don’t know are Sakura and the Sand siblings,” Kiba sighed. When Iruka only nodded, he continued, “As I was saying, Hinata told us that Neji is betrothed.”

“And he still got together with Naruto, knowing this?” the Chunin was furious.

“Yeah, but he kinda forgot about it,” the younger brunet defended his second-in-command. “Shino and I reminded him a few weeks ago.”

“Who is he betrothed to?” Iruka asked quietly.

“That’s the rub, really,” Kiba chewed his lip in thought. “You see, Hiashi decided that he wanted Neji to take over the main branch, but as he’s a side branch member that’s not possible, technically. So he arranged for him to marry Hinata, since she’s the heir to the main branch.”

“And I take it Hinata is not pleased with this either?” the older shinobi said contemplatively. “If that is the case, there shouldn’t be a problem then, the betrothal is off.”

“Huh?” Kiba looked at his former teacher confused.

“There is a law that states that two shinobi cannot be forced to marry,” Iruka shrugged. “If one or more parties involved do not wish for the marriage, then no one can force them. Of course, they have to stand up for that right.”

“Hinata’s too meek for that,” the dog ninja sighed. “And Neji feels so honor bound to his clan, he’ll never fight it.”

“Damn him and his pride,” the Chunin rolled his eyes. “Well, let’s see if we can talk some sense into him.”

The pair had stopped on the seventh floor, where Akamaru was pacing back and forth before a plain expanse of wall. Kiba joined him and, on his third pass, a door appeared. The shaggy haired teen smirked at his former sensei and slowly opened the door to the Room of Requirements.

Inside was a room that greatly resembled so many around Konoha. It was a training room, with targets along one wall and many wooden dummies to practice jutsus on. Neji was standing in the middle of a ring of training dummies in his usual stance for 64 palms, his back toward the door.

“I wanted to be alone,” he said quietly, not turning to look at the other two shinobi.

“Well, good for you,” Kiba rolled his eyes. “Apparently, that’s what Naruto wants too, only his way of going about it is to hide inside himself with the damn Nine Tailed Fox. What did you say to him Hyuuga?”

“I told him the truth,” the long haired teen straightened up, the training dummies disappearing.

“Oh?” the canine ninja stared at his superior’s back. “And what did he have to say about it?”

“He said what I expected him to say,” Neji shrugged. “He broke up with me.”

“That’s not all he said and you know it,” Kiba folded his arms across his chest. “He wouldn’t just give up like that, besides he told Sakura that if we wanted answers to come to you. I know what’s going on with you, now spill.”

Neji turned and glared at his fellow ANBU, but it was the sight of his former sensei that gave him pause. Iruka was giving him a scowl worthy of Hiashi himself, but the sadness in his eyes was the young ANBU’s undoing.

“He said we could fight it,” the Byakugan user sighed in defeat. “He mentioned a law about arranged marriages between shinobi being void if one or both parties weren’t willing to go through with it. But even if such a law existed, Hiashi would work around it, I know he would.”

“He can’t,” Iruka stated flatly. “If you don’t want to go through with this marriage, he can’t stop you, not without fear of banishment.”

“So Naruto was telling the truth?” Neji asked in confusion. “There is such a law?”

“Yes, there is,” Iruka nodded. “It was one of the final acts of the Fourth Hokage, the Third made sure it was put into effect, and I’m sure the Fifth will uphold it.”

“I can’t fight my uncle,” pale eyes lowered in defeat.

“Can’t or won’t?” Kiba snarled, sounding like the dogs he worked with.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Neji snapped.

“It means, you’re pathetic, Hyuuga,” Kiba scoffed, giving the older teen a disgusted look. “You act like you’re all high and mighty, but really you’re just a coward.”

“Watch it, Inuzuka!” pale eyes narrowed dangerously.

“You don’t scare me, Hyuuga,” the shaggy haired brunet shook his head. “You couldn’t fight me, you can’t even fight a man who’s half a world away! Grow a backbone already! I know you’ve got feelings for Naruto, act like you care! Don’t run away from your problems like a coward!”

“I’m not running away!” the Hyuuga had finally lost the reign on his temper. “I would never run away!”

“Hiding behind a mask of indifference is running away, Hyuuga!” Kiba snapped back, just as angry. “You think that stuffing everything that bothers you into a nice little box and shoving it away solves anything? Well, let me tell you something, it doesn’t! All you’re gonna end up doing is hurting yourself! But guess what? This doesn’t just involve you! It involves our captain too! You can drag yourself down into your self imposed prison, but I’ll be damned if I let you take him there too! Not to mention Hinata, who wouldn’t stand up for herself to save her life! You may not care about your cousin, but some of us do!”

“Enough,” Iruka placed his hand on the dog ninja’s shoulder. “You need to cool down, Kiba. Go find Shino.”

Kiba turned to snap at his former sensei, but, upon seeing the hard glint in his eyes, thought better of it and left the room. Iruka watched him leave and then turned his attention to the irate teen in front of him. He closed the distance between them and placed his hand on the ANBU’s shoulder.

“He’s right,” he said calmly, but his voice was like ice. “You can’t hide away from your problems.”

“What do you know about it?” Neji spat, not wanting to face the truth of the situation, the fact that he was hiding. Hiding from Naruto, hiding from his feelings, hiding from his uncle, in fact he’s spent his whole life hiding behind one mask or another.

“People have called you a genius all your life, Neji,” Iruka sighed. “It’s about time you use that head of yours and start thinking rationally. You’ve always cut others down. I won’t let you drag yourself and Naruto down as well. Naruto loves you, though why, I haven’t the slightest clue. You’re an egotistical bastard most of the time, but he obviously sees something else there.

“Now, I’m going to leave, but I want you to take some time to cool down and think about what has been said, by both Kiba and myself, and also what Naruto said too. That kid’s got a good head on his shoulders and a heart the size of Konoha. If you’re smart, and I know you are, you won’t let him get away.”

With that he turned and followed Kiba out of the Room of Requirements, leaving Neji alone once again.

888888

Later that evening, Naruto wandered through the corridors, lost in thought. Kyuubi was right. True, what Neji had said hurt, but he’d move past it, he’d pick himself up like always. Besides, he’d gone through worse with Sasuke, right? True, Sasuke wasn’t his boyfriend, but Naruto had thought of him as a brother and that meant just as much if not more to him.

Without realizing it, he had drifted into the dungeons. He was still trying to think of a way to convince Neji to come to his senses but was drawing a blank, there was only so much he could say to the stubborn teen, and only so many times he could kick his ass into submission.

Suddenly, as he passed an unused classroom, a hand shot out and pulled him inside.

“Shit!” he muttered under his breath at being caught unaware.

“You look a bit lost, little Gryffindor,” his captor drawled.

“What do you want, Malfoy?” Naruto rolled his eyes, he could easily take the Slytherin if push came to shove.

“I heard you and your little boyfriend broke up,” Malfoy smirked. “He must be an idiot to let you get away.”

“Leave me alone, Malfoy,” the ANBU captain snarled, not wanting to be taunted at the moment.

“You see, that’s the thing,” the Slytherin reached up with his free hand and ghosted the back down Naruto’s whiskered cheek, “I can’t do that. I can’t get you out of my head.”

“Not my problem,” Naruto jerked his head away from the light caress.

“I can make it your problem,” Malfoy whispered, leaning in seductively. “Hyuuga was a fool, now you’re defenseless.”

“I don’t need Neji to protect me,” the kitsune vessel snarled. “I can handle myself.”

“If you say so,” the blond wizard smirked.

Without another word, Malfoy pushed Naruto against the wall, capturing his wrists and holding them in place.

“What are you doing?” Naruto snapped, beginning to panic, without his hands how was he to do any jutsus?

“What I’ve wanted to do since I saw that idiot kiss you,” Malfoy leaned in and planted his lips firmly over the struggling shinobi’s.

Naruto didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to kiss this bastard, who reminded him so much of Sasuke, but he couldn’t get away without compromising the mission. He opened his mouth to sob, there was no way he was going to get out of this now.

“Get away from him, Malfoy!”


	14. Interesting Lessons and Strange Dreams

Chapter 14: Interesting Lessons and Strange Dreams

 

“Get away from him, Malfoy!” a cold voice sounded from the doorway.

Malfoy stopped his assault on the blond shinobi to glance over his shoulder at the intruder. His face paled as he took in the stoic redhead standing there with his arms folded across his chest.

“What do you want, Sabaku?” Malfoy attempted to sneer, but the fear in his voice didn’t let him manage it too well.

“Naruto, do you need my help?” Gaara ignored the Slytherin in favor of his friend.

“Not really,” the blond scratched the back of his neck.

Gaara just raised a nonexistent brow as if to say he doubted it. Naruto chuckled nervously and made his way over to his friend. Malfoy made a grab to stop the blond ANBU but at a subtle move from Gaara, which caused sand to propel him across the room and pin him to the wall, thought better of it.

As soon as the two shinobi were on their way back to Gryffindor tower, Gaara broke the silence.

“What was that about?” he asked quietly.

“I don’t know,” the blond shrugged. “He just cornered me.”

“And you couldn’t have fought him off?” the redhead asked curiously.

“I didn’t want to compromise the mission,” Naruto said sheepishly.

“That is no reason for you to let him get away with something like that,” the Kazekage said sternly. “I don’t want to have to find you in another situation like that. You are a shinobi, protect yourself like one, understand?”

“Yes, Gaara,” the ANBU sighed. “I’ll not let anyone corner me again.”

“You’d better not,” Gaara stared him down. “There might not be someone to help next time.”

“There won’t be a next time, and even if there was I wouldn’t need anyone’s help,” the blond pouted.

“If you say so,” the redhead acquiesced.

888888

It was with a certain amount of apprehension that Harry, Ron, and Hermione headed down to Hagrid’s on Tuesday, heavily muffled against the cold. The shinobi had their own tension among them since Naruto and Neji still weren’t talking, and now Kiba and Shino were ostracizing the pale eyed brunet too, Sakura and Temari seemed to be at odds as well, though no one knew why.

“We’re workin’ in here today!” Hagrid called happily to the approaching students, jerking his head back at the dark trees behind him. “Bit more sheltered! Anyway, they prefer the dark….”

“What prefers the dark?” Harry heard Malfoy say sharply to Crabbe and Goyle, a trace of panic in his voice. “What did he say prefers the dark—did you hear?”

“Gaara,” Naruto snuck up behind the other blond and whispered in his ear, causing the Slytherin to pale considerably. “Gaara prefers the dark, makes the kill that much easier.”

“Ready?” said Hagrid brightly, looking around the class. “Right, well, I’ve bin savin’ a trip inter the forest fer yer fifth year. Thought we’d go an’ see these creatures in their natural habitat. Now, what we’re studyin’ today is pretty rare, I reckon I’m probably the on’y person in Britain who’s managed ter train ‘em—”

“And you’re sure they’re trained, are you?” said Malfoy, the panic in his voice even more pronounced now. “Only it wouldn’t be the first time you’d brought wild stuff to class, would it?”

The Slytherins murmured agreement and a few Gryffindors looked as though they thought Malfoy had a fair point too.

“Nope, Gaara’s not trained at all, unless you count the training he was given to kill,” Naruto taunted so only Malfoy could hear.

“’Course they’re trained,” said Hagrid, scowling and hoisting the dead cow a little higher on his shoulder.

“So what happened to your face, then?” demanded Malfoy.

“Mind yer own business!” said Hagrid, angrily. “Now if yeh’ve finished askin’ stupid questions, follow me!”

He turned and strode straight into the forest. Nobody seemed much disposed to follow, except the shinobi. Harry glanced at Ron and Hermione, who sighed but nodded, and the three of them set off after Hagrid, leading the rest of the class.

They walked for about ten minutes until they reached a place where the trees stood so closely together that it was as dark as twilight and there was no snow on the ground at all. Hagrid deposited his half a cow with a grunt on the ground, stepped back, and turned to face his class again, most of whom were creeping toward him from tree to tree, peering around nervously as though expecting to be set upon at any moment.

“Gather roun’, gather roun’,” said Hagrid, encouragingly. “Now, they’ll be attracted by the smell o’ the meat but I’m goin’ ter give ‘em a call anyway, ‘cause they’ll like ter know it’s me….”

He turned, shook his shaggy head to get the hair out of his face, and gave an odd, shrieking cry that echoed through the dark trees like the call of some monstrous bird. Nobody laughed; most of them were too scared to make a sound.

Hagrid gave the shrieking cry again. A minute passed in which the class continued to peer nervously over their shoulders and around the trees for a first glimpse of whatever it was that was coming. And then, as Hagrid shook his hair back for a third time and expanded his enormous chest, Harry nudged Ron and pointed into the black space between two gnarled yew trees, where all the shinobi were already staring.

A pair of blank, white, shining eyes were growing larger through the gloom and a moment later the dragonish face, neck, and then skeletal body of a great, black, winged horse emerged from the darkness. It surveyed the class for a few seconds, swishing its long black tail, then bowed its head and began to tear flesh from the dead cow with its pointed fangs.

A great wave of relief broke over Harry. Here at last was proof that he had not imagined these creatures, that they were real. Hagrid knew about them too. He looked eagerly at Ron, but Ron was still staring around into the trees and after a few seconds he whispered, “Why doesn’t Hagrid call again?”

Most of the rest of the class were wearing expressions as confused and nervously expectant as Ron’s and were still gazing everywhere but at the horse feet from them. There were only two other people, aside from the shinobi, who seemed to be able to see them: a stringy Slytherin boy standing just behind Goyle and was watching the horse eating with an expression of great distance on his face, and Neville, whose eyes were following the swishing progress of the long black tail.

Naruto suddenly pointed to the trees again.

“Oh, an’ here comes another one!” said Hagrid proudly, as a second black horse appeared out of the dark trees, folded its leathery wings closer to its body, and dipped its head to gorge on the meat. “Now… put yer hands up, who can see ‘em?”

Immensely pleased to feel that he was at last going to understand the mystery of these horses, Harry raised his hand. He was immediately followed by all eight of the foreigners. Hagrid nodded at him.

“Yeah… yeah, I knew you’d be able ter, Harry,” he said seriously. “An’ you too, Neville, eh? An’—”

“Excuse me,” said Malfoy in a sneering voice, “but what exactly are we supposed to be seeing?”

For answer, Hagrid pointed at the cow carcass on the ground. The whole class stared at it for a few seconds, then several people gasped and Parvati squealed. Harry understood why: Bits of flesh stripping themselves away from the bones and vanishing into thin air had to look very odd indeed.

“What doing it?” Parvati demanded in a terrified voice, retreating behind the nearest tree. “What’s eating it?”

“Thestrals,” said Hagrid proudly and Hermione gave a soft “oh!” of comprehension at Harry’s shoulder. “Hogwarts has got a whole herd of ‘em in here. Now, who knows—?”

“But they’re really, really unlucky!” interrupted Parvati, looking alarmed. “They’re supposed to bring all sorts of horrible misfortune on people who see them. Professor Trelawney told me once—”

“No, no, no,” said Hagrid, chuckling, “tha’s jus’ superstition, that is, they aren’ unlucky, they’re dead clever an’ useful! ‘Course, this lot don’ get a lot o’ work, it’s mainly jus’ pullin’ the school carriages unless Dumbledore’s takin’ a long journey an’ don’ want ter Apparate—an’ here’s another couple, look—”

Two more horses came quietly out of the trees, one of them passing very close to Parvati, who shivered and pressed herself closer to the tree, saying, “I think I felt something, I think it’s near me!”

“Don’ worry, it won’ hurt yeh,” said Hagrid patiently. “Righ’, now, who can tell me why some o’ you can see them an’ some can’t?”

Hermione raised her hand.

“Go on then,” said Hagrid, beaming at her.

“The only people who can see thestrals,” she said, “are people who have seen death.”

“Tha’s exactly right,” said Hagrid solemnly, “ten points ter Gryffindor. Now, thestrals—”

“If anyone asks,” Gaara said quietly to the rest of the shinobi, “just give the first person you saw die, or the first one you can remember the name of.”

“Hai,” the others nodded.

_“Hem, hem.”_

Professor Umbridge had arrived. She was standing a few feet away from Harry, wearing her green hat and cloak again, her clipboard at the ready. Hagrid, who had never heard Umbridge’s fake cough before, was gazing in some concern at the closest thestral, evidently under the impression that it had made the sound.

_“Hem, hem.”_

“Oh hello!” Hagrid said, smiling, having located the source of the noise.

“You received the note I sent to your cabin this morning?” said Umbridge, in the same loud, slow voice she had used with him earlier, as though she was addressing somebody both foreign and very slow. “Telling you that I would be inspecting your lesson?”

“Oh yeah,” said Hagrid brightly. “Glad yeh found the place all righ’! Well, as you can see—or, I dunno—can you? We’re doin’ thestrals today—”

“I’m sorry?” said Umbridge loudly, cupping her hand around her ear and frowning. “What did you say?”

Hagrid looked a little confused.

“Er— _thestrals_!” he said loudly. “Big—er—winged horses, yeh know!”

He flapped his gigantic arms hopefully. Professor Umbridge raised her eyebrows at him and muttered as she made a note on her clipboard, _“‘has… to… resort… to… crude… sign… language…’”_

“Well… anyway…” said Hagrid, turning back to the class and looking slightly flustered. “Erm… what was I sayin’?”

 _“‘Appears… to… have… poor… short… term… memory…’”_ muttered Umbridge, loudly enough for everyone to hear her. Draco Malfoy looked as though Christmas had come a month early; Hermione, on the other hand, had turned scarlet with suppressed rage.

“Oh yeah,” said Hagrid, throwing an uneasy glance at Umbridge’s clipboard, but plowing on valiantly. “Yeah, I was gonna tell yeh how come we got a herd. Yeah, so we started off with a male an’ five females. This one,” he patted the first horse to have appeared, “name o’ Tenebrus, he’s my special favorite, firs’ one born here in the forest—”

“Are you aware,” Umbridge said loudly, interrupting him, “that the Ministry of Magic has classified thestrals as ‘dangerous’?”

Harry’s heart sank like a stone, but Hagrid merely chuckled.

“Thestrals aren’ dangerous! All righ’, they might take a bite outta you if yeh really annoy them—”

 _“‘Shows… signs… of… pleasure… at… idea… of… violence…’”_ muttered Umbridge, scribbling on her clipboard again.

“No—come on!” said Hagrid, looking a little anxious now. “I mean, a dog’ll bite if yeh bait it, won’ it—but thestrals have jus’ got a bad reputation because o’ the death thing—people used ter think they were bad omens, didn’ they? Jus’ didn’ understand, did they?”

Umbridge did not answer; she finished writing her last note, then looked up at Hagrid and said, again very loudly and slowly, “Please continue teaching as usual. I am going to walk”—she mimed walking—Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson were having silent fits of laughter—“among the students”—she pointed around at individual members of the class—“and ask them questions.” She pointed to her mouth to indicate talking.

Hagrid stared at her, clearly at a complete loss to understand why she was acting as though he did not understand normal English. Hermione had tears of fury in her eyes now.

“You hag, you evil hag!” she whispered, as Umbridge walked toward Pansy Parkinson. “I know what you’re doing, you awful, twisted, vicious—”

“Erm… anyway,” said Hagrid, clearly struggling to regain the flow of his lesson, “so—thestrals. Yeah. Well, there’s loads o’ good stuff abou’ them….”

“Do you find,” said Professor Umbridge in a ringing voice to Pansy Parkinson, “that you are able to understand Professor Hagrid when he talks?”

Just like Hermione, Pansy had tears in her eyes, but these were tears of laughter; indeed, her answer was almost incoherent because she was trying to suppress her giggles. “No… because… well… it sounds… like grunting a lot of the time….”

Umbridge scribbled on her clipboard. The few unbruised bits of Hagrid’s face flushed, but he tried to act as though he had not heard Pansy’s answer.

“Er… yeah… good stuff abou’ thestrals. Well, once they’re tamed, like this lot, yeh’ll never be lost again. ‘Mazin’ senses o’ direction, jus’ tell ‘em where yeh want ter go—”

“Assuming they can understand you, of course,” Malfoy said loudly, and Pansy Parkinson collapsed in a fit of renewed giggles. Professor Umbridge smiled indulgently at them and then turned to Neville.

“You can see the thestrals, Longbottom, can you?” she said.

Neville nodded.

“Whom did you see die?” she asked, her tone indifferent.

“My… my granddad,” said Neville.

“And what do you think of them?” she said, waving her stubby hand at the horses, who by now had stripped a great deal of the carcass down to the bone.

“Erm,” said Neville nervously, with a glance at Hagrid. “Well, they’re… er… okay…”

 _“‘Students… are… too… intimidated… to… admit… they… are… frightened….’”_ muttered Umbridge, making another note on her clipboard.

“No!” said Neville, looking upset, “no, I’m not scared of them—!”

“It’s quite all right,” said Umbridge, patting Neville on the shoulder with what she evidently intended to be an understanding smile, though it looked more like a leer to Harry. “Well, Hagrid,” she turned to look up at him again, speaking once more in that loud, slow voice, “I think I’ve got enough to be getting along with…. You will receive”—she mimed taking something from the air in front of her—“the results of your inspection”—she pointed at her clipboard—“in ten days’ time.” She held up ten stubby little fingers, then, her smile wider and more toadlike than ever before beneath her green hat, she bustled from their midst, leaving Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson in fits of laughter, Hermione actually shaking with fury, and Neville looked confused and upset, and the shinobi looking after her incredulously.

“One… would… think…” Naruto mimicked her loud and obnoxious tone, “she’d… get… the… idea… after… a… little… while… that… no… one… here… is… actually… stupid… except… her. Honestly, Gamakichi talks better than she does.”

Most of the Gryffindors chuckled, while the Slytherins were glaring daggers at him.

“So, Hagrid-sensei,” the blond turned back to the half giant, “you were saying?”

888888

“That foul, lying, twisted old gargoyle!” stormed Hermione half an hour later, as they made their way back up to the castle through the channels they had made earlier in the snow. “You see what she’s up to? It’s her thing about half-breeds all over again—she’s trying to make out Hagrid’s some kind of dim-witted troll, just because he had a giantess for a mother—and oh, it’s not fair, that really wasn’t a bad lesson at all—I mean, all right, if it had been Blast-Ended Skrewts again, but thestrals are fine—in fact, for Hagrid, they’re really good!”

“Umbridge said they’re dangerous,” said Ron.

“Well, it’s like Hagrid said, they can look after themselves,” said Hermione impatiently, “and I suppose a teacher like Grubbly-Plank wouldn’t usually show them to us before N.E.W.T. level, but, well, they _are_ very interesting, aren’t they? The way some people can see them and some can’t! I wish I could.”

“Do you?” Harry asked her quietly.

She looked horrorstruck.

“Oh Harry—I’m sorry—no, of course I don’t—that was a really stupid thing to say—”

“It’s okay,” he said quickly, “don’t worry….”

“I’m surprised so many people _could_ see them,” said Ron. “Eleven in a class—”

“Yeah, Weasley, we were just wondering,” said a malicious voice nearby. Unheard by any of them in the muffling snow, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were walking along right behind them, followed closely by the shinobi. “D’you reckon if you saw someone snuff it you’d be able to see the Quaffle better?”

He, Crabbe, and Goyle roared with laughter as they pushed past on their way to the castle and then broke into a chorus of “Weasley Is Our King.” Ron’s ears turned scarlet.

“Ignore them, just ignore them,” intoned Hermione, pulling out her wand and performing the charm to produce hot air again, so that she could melt them an easier path through the untouched snow between them and the greenhouses.

“He still hasn’t learned his lesson,” Gaara said, his eyes narrowing dangerously on the blond Slytherin. “Maybe another example should be given.”

“Gaara,” Naruto placed a restraining hand on the Kazekage. “You know we can’t kill him, no matter how much he annoys us.”

“For you, Naruto, and only for you,” the redhead sighed dejectedly, causing all the others to look at him curiously, the wizarding students out of shocked incredulity and the shinobi out of something akin to amusement.

“So guys,” Ron turned his head and looked at the shinobi, who were about ten paces behind them, “who all did you see die?”

“Ron!” Hermione scolded, trying desperately to tell the shinobi with her eyes not to listen to him. “That’s exceedingly rude….”

“Naw, Hermione,” Naruto waved her off, “it’s okay. We’ve all seen someone die before, we’re not ashamed of it, nor are we that affected by it, honestly, it’s not like we actually knew…” he caught Gaara’s eye, “Shutting up.”

“I saw my uncle, Yashamaru, die when I was five,” the Kazekage said stoically, absently reaching up and tracing the ai tattoo on his forehead. “He killed himself.”

“Oh,” Ron looked shocked, “sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Gaara shrugged, his hand falling to his side, “he was trying to kill me.”

“Well, I saw Haku and Zabuza die,” Naruto spoke up, to save Gaara some unwanted questions. “Haku was a great guy, just trying to protect his precious person, but Zabuza was a real ass.”

“He wasn’t all bad,” Sakura interrupted. “Remember, in the end all he wanted was to be with Haku but thought he couldn’t. You can’t blame him for the way he was trained.”

“So you saw those two die as well?” Hermione asked, suddenly curious.

“Yeah,” the pinkette nodded. “They were killed by a band of thieves.”

“What about the rest of you?” Harry piped up, now interested in how much these foreigners had seen.

“Kidoumaru,” Neji said quietly. “He died of massive internal damage from a battle.”

“Sakon and Ukon,” Kiba smirked, looking over at Kankuro. “They got on the wrong side of Crow.”

“It was Black Ant,” Kankuro shook his head. “They actually got on the wrong side of an Iron Maiden, Kiba and I just have a running joke about what the name of the thing was.”

“Tayuya,” Temari chuckled slightly at some private joke, “she was crushed by a tree.”

“Shino?” Harry looked at the bug ninja curiously. “You haven’t said anything, but I know you can see the thestrals, you were watching them close enough.”

“I saw someone die, yes,” he shrugged, “though I don’t know who it was, it was just a random person in the forest.”

“Huh?” Kiba looked at him curiously. “Oh yeah, him, I remember.”

“You were there?” Hermione’s brow furrowed in thought.

“Yeah,” the shaggy haired brunette shrugged, casting a sidelong look at the Kazekage. “We were doing an assignment together in the forest and happened on it, it was rather scary actually. Even Akamaru was worried.”

“I can’t believe you’ve seen that much death,” the witch shook her head, her thoughts going a mile a minute.

“As I told Harry before,” Naruto cut in as they reached the greenhouse, “death is a natural part of life, you’ve got to learn to accept it or you’ll go insane. I had a friend who never moved on from the death of his family, he betrayed everyone to get more power to be able to defeat their killer, almost killed me in the process.”

This left the wizarding students speechless and the shinobi giving him curious glances, wondering if he’d breakdown at the mention of said friend.

888888

December arrived, bringing with it more snow and a positive avalanche of homework for the fifth years. The shinobi managed to stay on top of things quite well, along with keeping up with their charges, which was made difficult for two of the teams as Ron and Hermione had prefect duties to attend to. Naruto had managed to get back to his old bubbly self, with the help of Kyuubi and, surprisingly enough, Gaara. Neji still hadn’t figured out if he could stand up to his uncle, which caused Kiba to become even more intolerant of him.

The last D.A. meeting of the holidays arrived and the shinobi followed their respective charges to the Room of Requirement. Naruto had a silent laughing fit as he saw the decorations but managed to keep his cover as Harry removed them all. Finally all of the members were there.

“Okay,” Harry said, calling them all to order. “I thought this evening we should just go over the things we’ve done so far, because it’s the last meeting before the holidays and there’s no point starting anything new right before a three-week break—”

“We’re not doing anything new?” said Zacharias Smith, in a disgruntled whisper loud enough to carry through the room. “If I’d known that, I wouldn’t have come….”

“We’re all really sorry Harry didn’t tell you, then,” said Fred loudly.

Several people sniggered. Harry saw Cho laughing and felt the familiar swooping sensation in his stomach, as though he had missed a step going downstairs, but it wasn’t nearly as strong as before.

“We can practice in pairs,” said Harry. “We’ll start with the impediment jinx, just for ten minutes, then we can get out the cushions and try Stunning again.”

They all divided up obediently; Harry partnered Neville as usual. The ninja were, amazingly enough, allowed to pair up together and, Harry was happy to note, did quite well with their techniques.

At the end of an hour, Harry called a halt.

“You’re getting really good,” he said, beaming around at them. “When we get back from the holidays we can start doing some of the big stuff—maybe even Patronuses.”

There was a murmur of excitement. The room began to clear in the usual twos and threes.

Outside the room, Naruto and Gaara set up post at the corner, waiting for their charge. As Ron and Hermione passed them, Neji whispered something to Kankuro and broke off, coming over to his captain and the Kazekage.

“Naruto, would it be possible to have a word with you,” the brunet gave a pointed look at Gaara, “in private.”

The blond shared a look with his companion before nodding that he could handle this, and the Kazekage nodded once before turning away from the two Leaf ANBU to watch for his charge. Naruto led the way down the hall to a deserted classroom and then turned to his lieutenant.

“What did you need to talk about, Neji?” he asked, his voice professional, not wanting to get hurt by the Hyuuga again.

“I wanted to say I’m sorry,” the brunet sighed, leaning against the wall. “I doubted you, and more importantly, I doubted myself, and by doing that I hurt you. For that I am sorry.”

“Is this an ‘I’m sorry, I want to fight this thing with your help’ or an ‘I’m sorry I hurt you, but I’m still not going to fight this and I’m just trying to make up excuses again’?”

“I am sorry I hurt you, and I do want to fight this,” Neji bowed his head. “Kiba made me realize how weak I was being by not standing up to my uncle; if I can’t shake his leash off half a world away, how am I ever going to stand up to him face to face. I care for you, Naruto, I do. I respect you as my captain and my friend, but I want more than that. I can’t promise that I won’t struggle with this again, but I will promise to listen and hear what you have to say. I love you, Naruto, and if you will take me back, I promise I will try my best to make things up to you.”

“Good,” the blond smiled before stepping closer to his lieutenant. “Now if you’re quite through…”

“Quite,” Neji reached out and pulled Naruto into his arms, capturing his mouth with his own.

A few minutes later they pulled apart, both rather breathless, and rested their foreheads together. Neji gave a contented sigh as his blond nestled snuggly against him.

As soon as he was settled in, Naruto looked straight into the pale eyes before him, “Did you just say you loved me?”

Neji just laughed as he gently squeezed his captain.

888888

Harry returned to the common room half an hour later to find Hermione and Ron in the best seats by the fire; nearly everybody else had gone to bed. Hermione was writing a very long letter; she had already filled half a roll of parchment, which was dangling from the edge of the table. Ron was lying on the hearthrug, trying to finish his Transfiguration homework.

“What kept you?” he asked, as Harry sank into the armchair next to Hermione’s.

Harry did not answer. He was in a state of shock. Half of him wanted to tell Ron and Hermione what had just happened, but the other half wanted to take the secret with him to the grave.

“Are you all right, Harry?” Hermione asked, peering at him over the tip of her quill.

Harry gave a halfhearted shrug. In truth, he didn’t know whether he was all right or not. “What’s up?” said Ron, hoisting himself up on his elbow to get a clearer view of Harry. “What happened?”

Harry didn’t quite know how to set about telling them, and still wasn’t sure whether he wanted to. Just as he had decided not to say anything, Hermione took matters out of his hands.

“Is it Cho?” she asked in a businesslike way. “Did she corner you after the meeting?”

Numbly surprised, Harry nodded. Ron sniggered, breaking off when Hermione caught his eye.

“So—er—what did she want?” he asked in a mock casual voice.

“She—” Harry began, rather hoarsely; he cleared his throat and tried again. “She—er—”

“Did you kiss?” asked Hermione briskly.

Ron sat up so fast that he sent his ink bottle flying all over the rug. Disregarding this completely he stared avidly at Harry.

“Well?” he demanded.

Harry looked from Ron’s expression of mingled curiosity and hilarity to Hermione’s slight frown, and nodded.

“HA!”

Ron made a triumphant gesture with his fist and went into a raucous peal of laughter that made several timid-looking second years over beside the window jump. A reluctant grin spread over Harry’s face as he watched Ron rolling around on the hearthrug. Hermione gave Ron a look of deep disgust and returned to her letter.

“Well?” Ron said finally, looking up at Harry. “How was it?”

Harry considered for a moment.

“Wet,” he said truthfully.

Ron made a noise that might have indicated jubilation or disgust, it was hard to tell.

“Because she was crying,” Harry continued heavily.

“Oh,” said Ron, his smile fading slightly. “Are you that bad at kissing?”

“Dunno,” said Harry, who hadn’t considered this, and immediately felt rather worried. “Maybe I am. We could always ask Malfoy.”

“Of course you’re not,” said Hermione absently, still scribbling away at her letter.

“How do you know?” said Ron in a sharp voice.

“Because Cho spends half her time crying these days,” said Hermione vaguely. “She does it at mealtimes, in the loo, all over the place.”

“You’d think a bit of kissing would cheer her up,” said Ron, grinning.

“Ron,” said Hermione in a dignified voice, dipping the point of her quill into her ink pot, “you are the most insensitive wart I have ever had the misfortune to meet.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” said Ron indignantly. “What sort of person cries while someone’s kissing them?”

“Yeah,” said Harry, slightly desperately, “who does?”

“Who’s crying and kissing?” a curious voice interrupted. “Sounds like something Hinata would do.”

The trio looked up and saw Neji and Naruto standing above them, giving them a curious look, or at least Naruto was, Neji just looked impassive.

“Cho kissed Harry, and she was crying,” Hermione explained.

“Yes, that sounds like something my cousin would do,” Neji nodded, “especially if you were the one kissing her, Naruto. But then again, I won’t share with her, so I think she’s safe from that fate. Come, Naruto, we should get some rest.”

“You go ahead, Nej,” the blond gave him a small smile, “I’ll be along in a bit, I want to hear about this.”

“As you wish,” he leaned forward and placed a kiss on Naruto’s forehead. “Good night.”

“’Night,” the other four chorused.

“So what’s this about making girls cry with your kisses?” Naruto plopped down on the arm of Harry’s chair. “Are you really that bad a kisser? I mean, Malfoy was spitting after he kissed you, but that could just be because you weren’t the one he wanted to kiss at the time.” He shuddered slightly, “I had a similar experience to that when I was in the academy, but I don’t hear Neji complaining about how I kiss.”

Hermione looked at the three of them with an almost pitying expression on her face.

“Don’t you understand how Cho’s feeling at the moment?” she asked.

“No,” said the three of them together.

Hermione sighed and laid down her quill.

“Well, obviously, she’s feeling very sad, because of Cedric dying. Then I expect she’s feeling confused because she liked Cedric and now she likes Harry, and she can’t work out who she likes best. Then she’ll be feeling guilty, thinking it’s an insult to Cedric’s memory to be kissing Harry at all, and she’ll be worrying about what everyone else might say about her if she starts going out with Harry. And she probably can’t work out what her feelings toward Harry are anyway, because he was the one who was with Cedric when Cedric died, so that’s all very mixed up and painful. Oh, and she’s afraid she’s going to be thrown off the Ravenclaw Quidditch team because she’s been flying so badly.”

A slightly stunned silence greeted the end of this speech, then Ron said, “One person can’t feel all that at once, they’d explode.”

“Yeah they can,” Naruto shook his head. “Trust me on that one, I’ve had more confusing emotions going on before, and add in a pissed off fox and you’ve got one hell of a mess.”

“Just because you’ve got the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn’t mean we all have,” said Hermione nastily, picking up her quill again, while giving Naruto a calculating look.

“She was the one who started it,” said Harry. “I wouldn’t’ve—she just sort of came at me—and the next thing she’s crying all over me—I didn’t know what to do—”

“Don’t blame you, mate,” said Ron, looking alarmed at the very thought.

“You just had to be nice to her,” said Hermione, looking up anxiously. “You were, weren’t you?”

“Well,” said Harry, an unpleasant heat creeping up his face, “I sort of—patted her on the back a bit.”

Hermione looked as though she was restraining herself from rolling her eyes with extreme difficulty, while Naruto burst out laughing.

“Well, I suppose it could have been worse,” she said. “Are you going to see her again?”

“I’ll have to, won’t I?” said Harry. “We’ve got D.A. meetings, haven’t we?”

“You know what I mean,” said Hermione impatiently, as Naruto finally fell to the floor in his hysterics.

“Honestly, Harry,” the blond finally gained some semblance of control, “and people call me an idiot.”

“Oh well,” said Hermione distantly, buried in her letter once more, “you’ll have plenty of opportunities to ask her….”

“What if he doesn’t want to ask her?” said Ron, who had been watching Harry with an unusually shrewd expression on his face.

“Don’t be silly,” said Hermione vaguely, “Harry’s liked her for ages, haven’t you, Harry?”

He did not answer. Yes, he had liked Cho for ages, but whenever he had imagined a scene involving the two of them it had always featured a Cho who was enjoying herself, as opposed to a Cho who was sobbing uncontrollably into his shoulder. And he also couldn’t understand why Malfoy’s face kept popping up every time he thought of kissing someone.

Naruto watched Harry closely. He could tell there was a lot going through his mind, and he could also tell it wasn’t all about Cho. He didn’t know how he could tell all this, but he could, maybe Kyuubi was helping him subconsciously.

 **“Nope, kit, not me,”** the fox chuckled. **“You can see a lot because you were in a similar experience before. Remember that time with Sakura, when she finally agreed to go out with you after you returned from your training?”**

‘Yeah, I remember that,’ the blond cocked his head to the side. ‘It felt wrong kissing her, especially since all I could think about was Neji.’

“Hey, Harry,” he whispered so the other two, who were now arguing over Hermione’s letter, wouldn’t hear, “who’s the better kisser, Cho or Malfoy?”

“Malfoy,” Harry answered absently.

“I thought so,” Naruto said smugly. “Harry, I think you might just be gay.”

“Huh? What?” the brunet looked at him confused.

“It’s just something to think about,” the blond smirked. “Good night.”

Naruto got up and headed up the stairs, with a brief nod in Gaara’s direction, who was seated in the shadows.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat in silence for another twenty minutes, Ron finished his Transfiguration essay with many snorts of impatience and crossing-out, Hermione writing steadily to the very end of the parchment, rolling it up carefully and sealing it, and Harry staring into the fire, wishing more than anything that Sirius’s head would appear there and give him some advice about girls, or maybe that Naruto had mentioned. But the fire merely crackled lower and lower, until the red-hot embers crumbled into ash and, looking around, Harry saw that they were, yet again, the last in the common room.

“Well, ‘night,” said Hermione, yawning widely, and she set off up the girls’ staircase.

“What does she see in Krum?” Ron demanded as he and Harry climbed up the boys’ stairs.

“Well,” said Harry, considering the matter, “I s’pose he’s older, isn’t he… and he’s an international Quidditch player…”

“Yeah, but apart from that,” said Ron, sounding aggravated. “I mean he’s a grouchy git, isn’t he?”

“Bit grouchy, yeah,” said Harry, thinking it over. “I’d say he’s more of a brooder though. But once you get to know him, he’s not that bad. I mean, he’s not the best looking guy in the world but he’s not a stuck up git like some other people we know.”

“What you like him now?” Ron asked incredulously as they reached the dorm.

They pulled off their robes and put on pajamas in silence; Dean, Seamus, and Neville were already asleep, they just assumed the shinobi were as well, since all of them had their curtains drawn. Harry put his glasses on his bedside table and got into bed but did not pull the hangings closed around his four-poster; instead he started at the patch of starry sky visible through the window next to Neville’s bed. If he had known, this time last night, that in twenty-four hours’ time he would have kissed Cho Chang and then contemplated his sexuality…

“’Night,” grunted Ron, from somewhere to his right.

“’Night,” said Harry.

Maybe next time… if there was a next time… she’d be a bit happier. He ought to have asked her out; she had probably been expecting it and was now really angry with him… or was she lying in bed, still crying about Cedric? He did not know what to think. Hermione’s explanation had made it all seem more complicated rather than easier to understand, and Naruto’s words had not helped at all.

 _‘That’s what they should teach us here,’_ he thought, turning over onto his side, _‘how girls’ brains work… it’d be more useful than Divination anyway….’_

Neville snuffled in his sleep. An owl hooted somewhere out in the night.

Harry dreamed he was back in the D.A. room. Cho was accusing him of luring her there under false pretenses; she said that he had promised her a hundred and fifty Chocolate Frog cards if she showed up. Harry protested… Cho shouted, _“Cedric gave me loads of Chocolate Frog cards, look!”_ And she pulled out fistfuls of cards from inside her robes and threw them into the air, and then turned into Hermione, who said, _“You did promise her, you know, Harry…. I think you’d better give her something else instead…. How about your Firebolt?”_ And Harry was protesting that he could not give Cho his Firebolt because Umbridge had it, and anyway the whole thing was ridiculous, he’d only come to the D.A. room to put up some Christmas baubles shaped like Dobby’s head…. And then Naruto was dragging Malfoy into the room and forcing them both under the mistletoe….

The dream changed….

His body felt smooth, powerful, and flexible. He was gliding between shining metal bars, across dark, cold stone…. He was flat against the floor, sliding along on his belly…. It was dark, yet he could see objects around him shimmering in strange, vibrant colors…. He was turning his head…. At first glance, the corridor was empty… but no… a man was sitting on the floor ahead, his chin drooping onto his chest, his outline gleaming in the dark….

Harry put out his tongue…. He tasted the man’s scent on the air…. He was alive but drowsing… sitting in front of a door at the end of the corridor…

Harry longed to bite the man… but he must master the impulse…. He had more important work to do….

But the man was stirring… a silvery cloak fell from his legs as he jumped to his feet, and Harry saw his vibrant, blurred outline towering above him, saw a wand withdrawn from a belt…. He had no choice…. He reared high from the floor and struck once, twice, three times, plunging his fangs deeply into the man’s flesh, feeling his ribs splinter beneath his jaws, feeling the warm gush of blood….

The man was yelling in pain… then he fell silent…. He slumped backward against the wall…. Blood was splattering onto the floor…. A flash of silver landed next to his head and a shadow fell across him….

His forehead hurt terribly…. It was aching fit to burst….

“Harry! HARRY!”

He opened his eyes. Every inch of his body was covered in icy sweat; his bedcovers were twisted all around him like a straitjacket; he felt as though a white-hot poker was being applied to his forehead.

_“Harry!”_

Ron was standing over him looking extremely frightened. There were more figures at the foot of Harry’s bed. He clutched his head in his hands; the pain was blinding him…. He rolled right over and vomited over the edge of the mattress.

“He’s really ill,” said a scared voice. “Should we call someone?”

“Harry! _Harry!_ ”

He had to tell Ron, it was very important that he tell him…. Taking great gulps of air, Harry pushed himself up in bed, willing himself not to throw up again, the pain half-blinding him.

“Your dad,” he panted, his chest heaving. “Your dad’s… been attacked….”

“What?” said Ron uncomprehendingly.

“Your dad! He’s been bitten, it’s serious, there was blood everywhere….”

“Shit!” someone swore quietly.

“I’m going for help,” said the same scared voice, and Harry heard footsteps running out of the dormitory.

“Harry, mate,” said Ron uncertainly, “you… you were just dreaming….”

“No!” said Harry furiously; it was crucial that Ron understand. “It wasn’t a dream… not an ordinary dream…. I was there, I saw it…. I _did_ it….”

“Oh fuck,” the same person swore again.

He could hear Seamus and Dean muttering but did not care. The pain in his forehead was subsiding slightly, though he was still sweating and shivering feverishly. He retched again and Ron leapt backward out of the way.

“Harry, you’re not well,” he said shakily. “Neville’s gone for help….”

“I’m fine!” Harry choked, wiping his mouth on his pajamas and shaking uncontrollably. “There’s nothing wrong with me, it’s your dad you’ve got to worry about—we need to find out where he is—he’s bleeding like mad—I was—it was a huge snake….”

He tried to get out of bed but Ron pushed him back into it; Dean and Seamus were still whispering somewhere nearby, and the shinobi were all staring at him shrewdly. Whether one minute passed or ten, Harry did not know; he simply sat there shaking, feeling the pain recede very slowly from his scar…. Then there were hurried footsteps coming up the stairs, and he heard Neville’s voice again.

“Over here, Professor…”

Professor McGonagall came hurrying into the dormitory in her tartan dressing gown, her glasses perched lopsidedly on the bridge of her bony nose.

“What is it, Potter? Where does it hurt?”

He had never been so pleased to see her, it was a member of the Order of the Phoenix he needed now, not someone fussing over him and prescribing useless potions.

“It’s Ron’s dad,” he said, sitting up again. “He’s been attacked by a snake and it’s serious, I saw it happen.”

“What do you mean, you saw it happen?” said Professor McGonagall, her dark eyebrows contracting.

“I don’t know…. I was sleeping and then I was there….”

“You mean you dreamed this?”

“No!” said Harry angrily. Would none of them understand? “I was having a dream at first about something completely different, something stupid… and then this interrupted it. It was real, I didn’t imagine it, Mr. Weasley was asleep on the floor and he was attacked by a gigantic snake, there was a load of blood, he collapsed, someone’s got to find out where he is….”

“Goddamn it woman,” Naruto pushed his way forward and reached over and lifted Harry easily into his arms. “He wasn’t dreaming, he was having a fucking vision! Neji, you and Shino follow me with the Weasleys,” he began barking orders on his way to the door. “Kankuro, find Gaara. Kiba, send Akamaru up to get the girls. I’m taking him to Dumbledore.”


	15. Old Friends and New Allies

Chapter 15: Old Friends and New Allies

 

Naruto ran all the way to the gargoyle guarding Dumbledore’s office with Harry firmly in his arms. Harry felt as though the panic inside him might spill over at any moment; he was so glad Naruto was taking him to Dumbledore so quickly. Mr. Weasley was bleeding as they walked/ran, and what if those fangs (Harry tried hard not to think “my fangs”) had been poisonous?

“Don’t worry, Harry, we’ll get there in time,” Naruto reassured him. “Move aside you damn thing!” he yelled at the gargoyle.

The gargoyle sprang to life and leapt aside; the wall behind it split in two to reveal a stone staircase that was moving continuously upward like a spiral escalator. But the blond paid no heed to this fact and took the steps three at a time.

“I love the fact that I don’t need a stupid password,” he muttered quietly.

Though it was now well past midnight, there were voices coming from inside the room, a positive babble of them. It sounded as though Dumbledore was entertaining at least a dozen people. Naruto didn’t bother to knock, but kicked the door open and the voices ceased abruptly as though someone had switched them all off.

The room was in half darkness, the strange silver instruments standing on tables were silent and still rather than whirring and emitting puffs of smoke as they usually did. The portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses covering the walls were all snoozing in their frames. Behind the door, a magnificent red-and-gold bird the size of a swan dozed on its perch with its head under its wing.

“Oh, it’s you, Naruto… and… _ah_.”

Dumbledore was sitting in a high-backed chair behind his desk; he leaned forward into the pool of candlelight illuminating the papers laid out before him. He was wearing magnificently embroidered purple-and-gold dressing gown over a snowy-white nightshirt, but seemed wide awake, his penetrating light-blue eyes fixed intently on the shinobi.

“Harry had a vision and you need to hear about it,” Naruto said quickly, setting Harry down on his feet and motioning for him to explain.

At that moment, McGonagall knocked on the door and led a pale Ron into the room. Dumbledore nodded at them.

“Go ahead,” the headmaster waved for Harry to begin.

“I… well, I was asleep….” said Harry and even in his terror and his desperation to make Dumbledore understand he felt slightly irritated that the headmaster was not looking at him, but examining his own interlocking fingers. “But it wasn’t an ordinary dream… it was real…. I saw it happen….” He took a deep breath, “Ron’s dad—Mr. Weasley—has been attacked by a giant snake.”

The words seemed to reverberate in the air after he had said them, slightly ridiculously, even comic. There was a pause in which Dumbledore leaned back and stared meditatively at the ceiling. Ron looked from Harry to Dumbledore, white-faced and shocked.

“How did you see this?” Dumbledore asked quietly, still not looking at Harry.

“Well… I don’t know,” said Harry, rather angrily—what did it matter? “Inside my head, I suppose—”

“You misunderstand me,” said Dumbledore, still in the same calm tone. “I mean… can you remember—er—where you were positioned as you watched this attack happen? Were you perhaps standing beside the victim, or else looking down on the scene from above?”

This was such a curious question that Harry gaped at Dumbledore; it was almost as though he knew…

“I was the snake,” he said. “I saw it all from the snake’s point of view….”

Nobody else spoke for a moment, then Dumbledore, now looking at Ron, who was still whey-faced, said in a new and sharper voice, “Is Arthur seriously injured?”

 _“Yes,”_ said Harry emphatically—why were they all so slow on the uptake, did they not realize how much a person bled when fangs that long pierced their side? And why could Dumbledore not do him the courtesy of looking at him? And why the hell was Naruto now so calm, leaning against the door with his arms crossed and his face blank?

But Dumbledore stood up so quickly that Harry jumped, and addressed one of the old portraits hanging very near the ceiling.

“Everard?” he said sharply. “And you too, Dilys!”

A sallow-faced wizard with short, black bangs and an elderly witch with long silver ringlets in the frame beside him, both of whom seemed to have been in the deepest of sleeps, opened their eyes immediately.

“You were listening?” said Dumbledore.

The wizard nodded, the witch said, “Naturally.”

“The man has red hair and glasses,” said Dumbledore. “Everard, you will need to raise the alarm, make sure he is found by the right people—”

Both nodded and moved sideways out of their frames, but instead of emerging in neighboring pictures (as usually happened at Hogwarts), neither reappeared; one frame now contained nothing but a backdrop of dark curtain, the other a handsome leather armchair. Harry noticed that many of the other headmasters and mistresses on the walls, though snoring and drooling most convincingly, kept sneaking peeks at him under their eyelids, and he suddenly understood who had been talking when they had come in.

“Everard and Dilys were two of Hogwarts’s most celebrated Heads,” Dumbledore said, now sweeping around Harry, Ron, and Professor McGonagall, Naruto had moved over to the wall and was now examining the portraits critically, and approaching the magnificent sleeping bird on his perch beside the door. “Their renown is such that both have portraits hanging in other important Wizarding institutions. As they are free to move between their own portraits they can tell us what may be happening elsewhere….”

“But Mr. Weasley could be anywhere!” said Harry.

“Please sit down, all four of you,” said Dumbledore, as though Harry had not spoken. “Everard and Dilys may not be back for several minutes…. Professor McGonagall, if you could draw up extra chairs…”

Professor McGonagall pulled her wand from the pocket of her dressing gown and waved it; four chairs appeared out of thin air, straight-backed and wooden, quite unlike the comfortable chintz armchairs that Dumbledore had conjured back at Harry’s hearing. Harry sat down, watching Dumbledore over his shoulder. Dumbledore was now stroking Fawkes’s plumed golden head with one finger. The phoenix awoke immediately. He stretched his beautiful head high and observed Dumbledore through bright, dark eyes.

“We will need,” said Dumbledore very quietly to the bird, “a warning.”

There was a flash of fire and the phoenix had gone.

Dumbledore now swooped down upon one of the fragile silver instruments whose function Harry had never known, carried it over to his desk, sat down facing them again, and tapped it gently with the tip of his wand.

Naruto, who was still inspecting the portraits, turned suddenly and narrowed his eyes at Dumbledore, “Can I commission a portrait to be made? Like these?”

The headmaster looked up from the image provided by the strange instrument and stared at the ninja curiously, “We already have one connected to your village, why?”

“Cause I’d like to fucking talk to Lady Tsunade, duh,” blue eyes rolled in annoyance.

“I’m not sure who has the other portrait at the moment, but here,” Dumbledore pulled a much smaller frame from a drawer in his desk and handed it to the ANBU.

Naruto took it and stared at the blond figure that was sleeping in the frame. He had spiky blond hair and a rather young face, and Naruto could’ve sworn he looked familiar for some reason but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He shook his head and prodded the picture with his finger and the person in it immediately woke.

“Who are you and what do you want?” the portrait asked, instantly alert, telling Naruto he was a ninja.

“You’re the Fourth,” Naruto said in disbelief, realizing where he’d seen this ninja before.

“I know who I am,” the portrait smirked, “now it is only polite to tell me who you are.”

“ANBU captain, Uzumaki Naruto,” he inclined his head in a semblance of a bow.

“Uzumaki Naruto, huh? I don’t know you,” the Yondaime shook his head. “How do I know you are telling the truth?”

Naruto turned his back on the other occupants of the room, who weren’t paying attention to him anyway, and began searching his pockets, but found nothing.

“Damn it, I forgot,” he ran his free hand through his hair. “I don’t have my forehead protector anymore, I gave it to someone as cover, but of course you don’t know who I am, you died the day I was born.”

“Fine,” the portrait sighed, “I’ll be right back, I’m going to confirm your identity.”

The Fourth disappeared from the frame and the younger blond turned his attention back to the room, where Everard had just reappeared in his portrait, panting slightly.

“Dumbledore!”

“What news?” said Dumbledore at once.

“I yelled until someone came running,” said the wizard, who was now mopping his brow on the curtain behind him, “said I heard something moving downstairs—they weren’t sure whether to believe me but went down to check—you know there are no portraits down there to watch from. Anyway, they didn’t find anything.”

“What?!” everyone looked at the portrait confused and alarmed.

“He has to be there,” Dumbledore muttered under his breath.

At that moment, the silver-ringletted witch had reappeared in her picture too; she sank, coughing, into her armchair and said, “He was brought in immediately following the attack, they were already working on him when I got there. Apparently, two teens brought him in, foreigners.”

“Who were these two teens?” Dumbledore asked curiously.

“I didn’t catch any names, but I saw them as they were trying to make themselves understood,” Dilys shook her head. “There was a brown haired boy and girl, they had nothing spectacular about them, except their hairstyles, I had never seen the like: the boy’s was pulled into a high spiked ponytail and the girl had duel buns on either side of the top of her head and they spoke not a word of English, the Healers were looking for a translator.”

“Shika and TenTen?” Naruto muttered in quiet disbelief, but no one heard him.

Before he could question the portrait lady further, the figure returned to the portrait in his hands.

“Well, it appears you are who you say,” he shook his head in annoyance. “I just had a very long chat with an old friend about you. Did you really learn the Rasengan in three days?”

“Jiraiya,” Naruto rolled his eyes in exasperation. “And yes, I did. Now can you tell that pervy sage to take your portrait to Lady Tsunade, I need to have a word with her.”

As the portrait emptied again, the door burst open once more and the other seven shinobi entered the office, followed by the remaining Weasleys. Dumbledore had been doing things around the room, and Naruto was loathe to admit he had missed it in his concentration on his conversation with the Fourth Hokage.

“Harry—what’s going on?” asked Ginny, who looked frightened. “They say you saw Dad hurt—”

“Your father has been injured in the course of his work for the Order of the Phoenix,” said Dumbledore before Harry could speak. “He has been taken to St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I am sending you back to Sirius’s house, which is much more convenient for the hospital than the Burrow. You will meet your mother there.”

“How’re we going?” said Fred, looking shaken. “Floo powder?”

“No,” said Dumbledore, “Floo powder is not safe at the moment, the Network is being watched. You will be taking a Portkey.” He indicated the old kettle lying innocently on his desk. “We are just waiting for Phineas Nigellus to report back…. I wish to be sure that the coast is clear before sending you—”

There was a flash of flame in the very middle of the office, leaving a single golden feather that floated gently to the floor.

“It is Fawkes’s warning,” said Dumbledore, catching the feather as it fell. “She must know you’re out of your beds…. Minerva, go and head her off—tell her any story—”

Professor McGonagall was gone in a swish of tartan. He then turned to study the assembled shinobi.

“I need some of you to accompany them,” he said quietly. “You three,” he indicated the Sand siblings, “I want you to stay here, as there will only be one student remaining here. I’ll say there was an emergency back in the Leaf and the other six had to return home early. You will join them once the holidays start.”

“Hai,” the three siblings nodded and went out the door.

“He says he’ll be delighted,” said a bored voice behind Dumbledore; the wizard called Phineas had reappeared in front of his Slytherin banner. “My great-great-grandson has always had odd taste in houseguests….”

“Come here, then,” Dumbledore said to Harry, the Weasleys, and the remaining shinobi. “And quickly, before anyone else joins us…”

Harry and the others gathered around Dumbledore’s desk.

“You have all used a Portkey before?” asked Dumbledore, and they nodded, each reaching out to touch some part of the blackened kettle. “Good. ON the count of three then… one… two…”

Naruto was watching the wizards around him in some trepidation, what were they getting themselves into now? They didn’t sign up for this. Then again, when did a mission ever go as planned? He almost chuckled until he noticed a strange expression cross Harry’s face, and for a moment, thought the young wizard wanted to kill Dumbledore.

_“…three.”_

There was a powerful jerk behind their navels, the ground vanished from beneath their feet, their hands were glued to the kettle; they were all banging into each other as all sped forward in a swirl of colors and a rush of wind, the kettle pulling them onward and then—

Their feet touched the ground, and only the shinobi managed to keep their feet as the kettle clattered to the ground and somewhere close at hand a voice said, “Back again, the blood traitor brats, is it true their father’s dying…?”

“OUT!” roared a second voice.

They had arrived in the gloomy basement kitchen of number twelve, Grimmauld Place. The only source of light were the fire and one guttering candle, which illuminated the remains of a solitary supper. Kreacher was disappearing through the door to the hall, looking back at them malevolently as he hitched up his loincloth; Sirius was hurrying toward them all, looking anxious. He was unshaven and still in his day clothes; there was also a slightly Mundungus-like whiff of stale drink about him.

“What’s going on?” he said, stretching out a hand to help Ginny up. “Phineas Nigellus said Arthur’s been badly injured—You six,” he indicated the shinobi and motioning for them to head out the door, “are in the same rooms you were in last time, though you now have an extra person each, two for the girls.”

“So they are here?” Naruto eyed the Animagus warily. “Shikamaru and TenTen are here?”

“As well as Ino, Choji, and Hinata,” Sirius nodded. “Though that’s about all I can get out of them before I can’t understand them anymore, but they had a letter from Dumbledore so I couldn’t turn them away.”

“You don’t happen to know that translation spell, the one Dumbledore put on us, do you?” Sakura asked curiously.

“I didn’t even think about that, they just showed up today,” Sirius shrugged. “I’ll do that in the morning, I think they’re sleeping at the moment.”

“Unlikely,” Neji scoffed. “Isn’t that right, cousin?”

“Hello, brother,” a girl with shoulder length black hair and silver eyes, exactly like Neji’s, entered the kitchen, followed closely by a long haired blonde girl and a chubby redheaded boy.

“Hey guys, Billboard Brow,” Ino smiled at them.

“Naruto,” Choji nodded at the ANBU captain. “Shika and TenTen should be back soon, and they’ll report what they’ve been up to.”

“Why are you guys here?” the blond asked curiously.

“Lady Tsunade sent us,” Ino shrugged. “She said you guys had some time off from school and could probably use a familiar face… or five.”

At that moment, Sirius shouted, they had been so busy catching up, they hadn’t heard the conversation going on around them.

“Your father knew what he was getting into, and he won’t thank you for messing things up for the Order!” said Sirius angrily in his turn. “This is how it is—this is why you’re not in the Order—you don’t understand—there are things worth dying for!”

“Easy for you to say, stuck here!” bellowed Fred. “I don’t see you risking your neck!”

“Shut up!” Naruto glared at Fred, causing all the wizards to look at him strangely. “You have no right talking to him like that! I know you’re fucking upset about your dad, but don’t you dare start telling someone off for following orders! Your dad wouldn’t have gone if he didn’t understand the risk involved. As it is, he’s safe, he’s being treated at the hospital as we speak. Now just shut your mouths, sit down, and, if I even think you’re breathing funny, I’ll hang you to the ceiling by your wrists.”

“Damn, Naruto,” Choji chuckled slightly. “I have no idea what you just said, but that sounded scary.”

“Oh, here,” Sirius pulled his wand and aimed it at the three shinobi in the doorway.

“What was that?” Ino asked confused, as she felt the strange sensation of water washing over her.

“He put a translating spell on you, so you can understand what’s going on,” Sakura explained to her friend. “So tell me Ino-pig, how are things going with you?”

“Good,” she said evasively, but wouldn’t meet the pinkette’s eyes. “Anyway, who are the brats?”

“Who are you calling brats?” Fred asked, scandalized at the blonde beauty before him. “We’re at least two years older than you.”

“That’s Fred Weasley,” Kiba supplied. “The one beside him is his identical twin, George, you can tell the difference if you watch closely. The other redheaded boy is Ron, their younger brother, the girl is their sister, Ginny, and the raven there is Harry Potter, no relation what-so-ever.”

“So where’s Gaara and the others?” Choji asked. “We were told they were here.”

“They stayed at school, we’ve got a village emergency,” Naruto chuckled slightly. “Or at least that’s what everyone will think when we get back. The old snake bastard hasn’t been acting up has he?”

“Not recently,” Choji shrugged. “All’s quiet on that front.”

“N-Naruto,” Hinata piped up, eyeing the wizards at the table with some trepidation, “I-I don’t think this is the appropriate place to discuss this.”

“Right,” the blond smiled sheepishly. “We’ll talk later.”

The shinobi settled down around the table with the wizards and waited.

And then, at ten past five in the morning by Ron’s watch, the kitchen door swung open and Mrs. Weasley entered the kitchen, followed by two other teens. She was extremely pale, but when they all turned to look at her, Fred, Ron, and Harry half-rising from their chairs, she gave a wan smile.

“He’s going to be all right,” she said, her voice weak with tiredness. “He’s sleeping. We can all go and see him later. Bill’s sitting with him now, he’s going to take the morning off work.”

Fred fell back into his chair with his hands over his face. George and Ginny got up, walked swiftly over to their mother, and hugged her. Ron gave a very shaky laugh and downed the rest of his butterbeer in one.

“Shika!” Naruto jumped up, ran over to one of the teens standing behind Mrs. Weasley and launched himself at him in a fierce hug.

“Troublesome,” he muttered as he caught the hyper blond. “When did you last sleep Naruto?”

“Um…” the Kyuubi vessel bit his lip nervously.

“Too long,” the one called Shika rolled his eyes, and then addressed the other shinobi. “Doesn’t anyone make sure he gets enough sleep?”

“We’ve kinda been having some problems,” Kiba scratched his neck sheepishly. “I honestly didn’t think he was having trouble sleeping.”

“Not that you would have noticed anyway,” Shino shook his head. “You never paid much attention to his sleeping habits in the past.”

“Whoa, bug boy,” Ino did a double take. “You’re not wearing your glasses.”

Shino reached into his pocket, pulled out his shades, and slipped them onto his face.

“Way to go, Ino,” Kiba shook his head. “Now I can’t know when he’s watching me. I’ve loved this year so far, he hasn’t been able to stare at me without me knowing it’s him.”

“Shika, Shika, Shika,” Naruto tugged on the brunet’s ponytail, “guess what?”

“You’re going to bed, Naruto,” the lazy teen sighed.

“No,” he shook his head, “I’m going out with Neji, and I’m not going to bed, we’re going to see Mr. Weasley later, so you’re not either.”

“That’s all right, dear,” Mrs. Weasley looked over at him. “There’s still plenty of time till then, you go get some sleep.”

Shikamaru, still holding Naruto, walked out of the room. The wizards watched them go in some confusion, while the shinobi smiled at the pair, though Neji’s looked a bit strained.

“He’ll have him asleep in five minutes,” Choji chuckled, munching on the breakfast Sirius had placed on the table.

“Bet ya it’ll be two,” Kiba shook his head. “Honestly, with Shika, he’ll be out faster than when he’s been training for twenty-four hours straight.”

“What power does Shika have over him?” Ginny asked curiously from her mother’s arms.

“Shikamaru is the laziest person in our village,” Sakura shook her head. “He probably even beats his father for laziness, and he can fall asleep at the drop of a hat, anywhere. He and Naruto used to fall asleep in school all the time. Hey TenTen, how’re you doing?” she greeted the other teen who had entered with Mrs. Weasley.

“I’m good, Sakura,” the brunette kunoichi smiled. “So Neji, is what he said true?”

“Yes,” the pale eyed teen nodded.

“Neji?” Hinata looked at him in shock.

“We’ll talk later, Hinata,” he said quietly and she nodded.

“Congratulations, Nej,” his former teammate smiled. “Wait till Lee and Gai-sensei find out, they’ll go on about it forever.”

“Good thing I won’t be around to hear about it when they first find out about it then,” he shuddered slightly at the thought of his other former teammate and sensei.

“Oh, they’ll corner you when you get back, don’t worry,” she smiled evilly at him. “By the way, where’s Kankuro?”

“He stayed at school with Gaara and Temari,” Sakura supplied. “Dumbledore said it would be better if all of us didn’t disappear at once.”

“Uzumaki Naruto?” a voice called from under the table. “Damn it, where is that brat? He said he wanted to get in contact with Tsunade and now he’s not here.”

Everyone glanced under the table and saw a small framed portrait sitting under the seat Naruto had occupied. Harry leaned over and picked it up. The portrait looked at him and said something he couldn’t understand. He looked at the shinobi for help and Neji reached out his hand. Harry gladly handed it over.

“Naruto has gone to bed, I am Hyuuga Neji, his lieutenant, what does Lady Tsunade have to say?”

“She said to tell that brat he better have a good reason for disturbing her,” the portrait grinned. “And if he doesn’t she’ll knock him into the next country. Oh, and to expect some friendly faces for the holidays.”

“You couldn’t have told us that earlier?” the Hyuuga rolled his eyes.

“Nope,” the Hokage’s grin got, if possible, even bigger. “And tell him from me, I’m sorry, Jiraiya filled me in on his past, I never meant to ruin his life.”

“I’ll be sure to let you tell him later, after he wakes up, maybe he’ll even let you speak with Kyuubi,” Neji said, an evil smirk gracing his features.

888888

Everyone but Harry spent the rest of the morning sleeping, and as predicted, when the shinobi entered their room, Shikamaru and Naruto were curled up together on one of the beds, sleeping soundly. Neji felt a pang of jealousy as he watched the pair, he knew it was irrational because there was nothing going on between the two housemates, but he couldn’t help it.

Their trunks arrived from Hogwarts while they were eating lunch, so they could dress as Muggles for the trip to St. Mungo’s. The shinobi put on their normal clothes and waited for the wizards. Tonks and Mad-Eye turned up to escort them across London, though the shinobi thought it odd, but then again, they were undercover.

They took the underground to the very heart of London. They all followed Tonks up the escalator, Moody clunking along at the back of the group, his bowler tilted low and one gnarled hand stuck in between the buttons of his coat, clutching his wand.

“Not far from here,” grunted Moody as they stepped out into the wintry air on a broad store-lined street packed with Christmas shoppers. He pushed Harry a little ahead of him and stumped along just behind; Harry knew his eye was rolling in all directions under the tilted hat. “Wasn’t easy to find a good location for a hospital. Nowhere in Diagon Alley was big enough and we couldn’t have it underground like the Ministry—unhealthy. In the end they managed to get hold of a building up here. Theory was sick wizards could come and go and just blend in with the crowd….”

He seized Harry’s shoulder to prevent them being separated by a gaggle of shoppers plainly intent on nothing but making it into a nearby shop full of electrical gadgets.

“Here we go,” said Moody a moment later.

They had arrived outside a large, old-fashioned, red brick department store called Purge and Dowse Ltd. The place had a shabby, miserable air; the window displays consisted of a few chipped dummies with their wigs askew, standing at random and modeling fashions at least ten years out of date. Large signs on all the dusty doors read CLOSED FOR REFURBISHMENT. Harry distinctly heard a large woman laden with plastic shopping bags say to her friend as they passed, “It’s _never_ open, that place….”

“Right,” said Tonks, beckoning them forward to a window displaying nothing but a particularly ugly female dummy whose false eye-lashes were hanging off and who was modeling a green nylon pinafore dress. “Everybody ready?”

They nodded, clustering around her; Moody gave Harry another shove between the shoulder blades to urge him forward and Tonks leaned close to the glass, looking up at the very ugly dummy and said, her breath steaming up the glass, “Wotcher… We’re here to see Arthur Weasley.”

The shinobi watched in apparent disinterest as the dummy gave a tiny nod, beckoned its jointed finger, and Tonks had seized Ginny and Mrs. Weasley by the elbows, stepped right through the glass and vanished.

Fred, George, and Ron stepped after them; quickly followed by Kiba, Shino, Neji, Hinata, and TenTen.

“What are you five still doing out here?” Moody growled at the remaining shinobi.

Naruto met his visible eye with a cold glare, “My job, fucking bastard.”

Shikamaru and Sakura each grabbed one of his arms and almost dragged him through the opening with Ino and Choji following. They arrived in what seemed to be a crowded reception area where rows of witches and wizards sat upon rickety wooden chairs, some looking perfectly normal and perusing out-of-date copies of _Witch Weekly_ , others sporting gruesome disfigurements such as elephant trunks or extra heads sticking out of their chests. The room was scarcely less quiet than the street outside, for many of the patients were making peculiar noises. A sweaty-faced witch in the center of the front row, who was fanning herself vigorously with a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ , kept letting off a high-pitched whistle as steam came pouring out of her mouth, and a grubby-looking warlock in the corner clanged like a bell ever time he moved, and with every clang his head vibrated horribly, so that he had to seize himself by the ears and hold it steady.

Witches and wizards in lime-green robes were walking up and down the rows, asking questions and making notes on clipboards like Umbridge’s. Harry notice the emblem embroidered on their chests: a wand and a bone, crossed.

“Are they doctors?” he asked Ron quietly.

“Doctors?” said Ron, looking startled. “Those Muggle nutters that cut people up? Nah, they’re Healers.”

Harry suddenly noticed the new blonde girl looking slightly queasy, with her eyes closed and her hand delicately covering her mouth, as if by doing so she would stop herself from being sick.

“Hey,” he placed a hand on her shoulder, “are you okay? Do you need to see a Healer?”

His question drew the attention of the other members of their group. Choji stepped to her side and pulled her into a one armed embrace. Sakura was immediately at their side, shoving Harry out of the way.

“What’s wrong, Ino-pig?” she asked worriedly, instantly in medic mode.

Ino just shook her head, not trusting herself to say anything. Choji looked up at the pink haired medic, a small smile pulling at his lips.

“She’ll be fine,” he said quietly, pulling her even closer. “She just needs to sit down and it would probably be best if we left this room. She doesn’t do well with injuries and things at the moment.”

“What’s wrong with her, Choji?” the medic’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“Over here!” called Mrs. Weasley over the renewed clanging of the warlock in the corner, and they followed her to the queue in front of a plump blonde witch seated at a desk marked INQUIRES. The wall behind her was covered in notices and posters saying things like A CLEAN CAULDRON KEEPS POTIONS FROM BECOMING POISONS and ANTIDOTES ARE ANTI-DON’TS UNLESS APPROVED BY A QUALIFIED HEALER.

There was also a large portrait of a witch with long silver ringlets that was labeled

**‘DILYS DERWENT**

ST. MUNGO’S HEALER 1722-1741

HEADMISTRESS OF HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY, 1741-1768

Dilys was eying the Weasley party closely as though counting them; when Harry caught her eye she gave a tiny wink, walked sideways out of her portrait, and vanished.

“Ino, are you sure you’re alright?” Naruto finally asked. “You don’t look so good.”

Mrs. Weasley finally noticed the girl’s state.

“Oh dear, you don’t look well at all,” she moved over and placed her hand on Ino’s forehead, pushing aside her long bangs. “Well, you don’t have a fever, but if you’re feeling nauseous maybe we can get one of the Healers to get a potion for you.”

Pale blue eyes snapped open and she shook her head, “No,” she croaked slightly. “I’ll be fine.”

“Here,” Shikamaru pulled a bottle from his belt and handed it to her. “Troublesome woman.”

She took the water bottle gratefully and began sipping at it. Choji was now rubbing soothing circles on her back.

“Feeling better now?” he asked quietly. “Sorry I didn’t think about bringing one. I’ve got some crackers though.”

“I’m fine,” she smiled slightly at the redhead beside her, and then turned to Shikamaru, handing him back the bottle. “Thank you, Shika.”

“Whatever,” he took the bottle and put it back on his belt before shoving his hands into his pockets.

Mrs. Weasley moved forward to the desk.

“Hello,” she said. “My husband, Arthur Weasley, was supposed to be moved to a different ward this morning, could you tell us—”

“Arthur Weasley?” said the witch, running her fingers down a long list in front of her. “Yes, first floor, second door on the right. Dai Llewellyn ward.”

“Thank you,” said Mrs. Weasley. “Come on, you lot.”

They followed her through the double doors and along the narrow corridor beyond, which was lined with more portraits of famous Healers and lit by crystal bubbles full of candles that floated up on the ceiling, like giant soapsuds. More witches and wizards in lime-green robes walked in and out of the doors they passed; a foul-smelling yellow gas wafted into the passageway as they passed one door, which caused Choji to tighten his hold on Ino and hurry her onward as she looked sick again, and every now and then they heard distant wailing. They climbed a flight of stairs and entered the “Creature-Induced Injuries” corridor, where the second door on the right bore the words “DANGEROUS” DAI LLEWELLYN WARD: SERIOUS BITES. Underneath it was a card in a brass holder on which had been handwritten _Healer-in-Charge: Hippocrates Smethwyck, Trainee Healer: Augustus Pye_.

“We’ll wait outside, Molly,” Tonks said. “Arthur won’t want too many visitors at once…. It ought to be just the family first.”

Mad-Eye growled his approval of this idea and set himself with his back against the corridor wall, his magical eye spinning in all directions. The shinobi made their way to the other side of the narrow hallway and pushed Ino into the lone chair sitting there, while the others took up spots similar to Moody’s. Harry drew back too, but Mrs. Weasley reached out a hand and pushed him through the door, saying, “Don’t be silly, Harry, Arthur wants to thank you….”

As soon as they disappeared, Sakura squatted down in front of her friend and gave her a piercing look, “Now that we’re relatively alone, tell me what’s going on Ino. You are a medic, a hospital shouldn’t bother you, and it hasn’t in the past, in fact you tried to save Asuma-sensei.”

“I’m fine, really, Billboard Brow,” she chuckled slightly, trying to brush her off. “I just wasn’t ready for all this, though I’m not sure why, it is a hospital after all.”

“Ino Akamichi you will tell me right this instant, as your superior and a medic, I’m ordering you to tell me what’s going on.”

“She’s pregnant,” Choji supplied, slipping his arm around his wife’s shoulders.

“Oh!” green eyes widened in surprise. “I’m sorry for snapping, congratulations!”

She leaned forward and enveloped her friend in a fierce, yet surprisingly gentle, hug.

“It’s alright, Billboard Brow,” Ino smiled, returning the hug. “You’re not the top medic for nothing, I’d be more surprised if you let it drop.”

“A-hem,” Moody cleared his throat and said quietly, “Sorry to interrupt, but I don’t trust you lot. Dumbledore may like you, but I don’t. How is it that two of you happened to be at the Ministry last night, and why are all of you still accompanying us around town?”

“I’d like to know that as well,” Tonks gave them a suspicious look.

“Alastor, Nymphradora,” Naruto stepped forward and bowed to the two Aurors. “We are not obligated to answer any of your questions. However, I don’t want you watching over our every action,” here he paused and looked at the other shinobi. “So I’m making a command decision here. But before I tell you anything, could I ask you to put up some privacy spells, allowing no one to overhear us?”

In response, Moody pulled his wand and muttered a few spells in all directions, a bit miffed that this kid was calling him by his first name. Tonks, on the other hand, was furious at the fact that he had said her full name. Moody motioned for Naruto to continue.

“Do you remember what you said before we got on the train, Alastor?” the blond asked, tilting his head to the side almost innocently. “About the Hidden Ninja Villages?”

Moody nodded once.

“Good,” Naruto beamed, “that makes my explanation simple. We are shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, our companions back at the school are from the Village Hidden in the Sand, Dumbledore hired us to watch over Potter, Granger, and the Weasleys while at school. As for why these two were at the Ministry,” he indicated Shikamaru and TenTen, “I have no clue, they just arrived, but I’m not going to complain since they managed to bring Arthur to the hospital before things got really serious.”

“How do we know you are telling the truth?” Tonks asked, more curious now.

Naruto nodded at the others, who all pulled out their forehead protectors and showed them to the two Aurors.

“These are our ninja headbands,” the blond explained. “The symbol notes what village we are from. This is my passport,” he handed a small leaflet over to Moody. “It’s in Japanese, but it tells name, rank, and village.”

Moody seemed to accept these explanations, “All right, but why be so secret about it? Dumbledore won’t even tell the Order who you are, or you’re purpose for being here.”

“That’s just discretion on his part,” the kitsune vessel shook his head. “We are undercover, he doesn’t want anyone to know he hired ninja to help protect his students. And it wouldn’t be a good idea if a lot of people suddenly knew of the Hidden Villages, or the simple fact that I’m here, considering Voldemort has already tried to get some support from our enemies.”

“How do you know that?” Tonks asked in some surprise, she hadn’t even heard about this.

“We are good at our jobs, Tonks,” Naruto smirked. “In fact, all but four of us are of the elite ninja of our villages, and Gaara is actually the Kazekage, the highest ranking ninja of his.”

“So, Dumbledore didn’t just brush off my suggestion of trying to find the Hidden Ninja Villages?” Moody muttered quietly.

“He was probably in contact with us before you mentioned it,” Sakura said quietly, since she was the only one who knew how long this mission had been in the works. “He contacted our Hokage in June, saying he had a year-long mission he would like to hire some shinobi for. He had specific requirements for the shinobi he wanted so she had to wait until the squad she wanted was available.”

“And they say I’m paranoid,” Moody chuckled slightly. “That old coot!”

Just then the door opened and Harry and the Weasley children trooped back into the corridor. Quicker than the eye could see, the shinobi had their headbands safely tucked away and Naruto had his passport back in his pocket. Mad-Eye and Tonks went in and closed the door of the ward behind them. Fred raised his eyebrows.

“Fine,” he said coolly, rummaging in his pockets, “be like that. Don’t tell us anything.”

“Looking for these?” said George, holding out what looked like a tangle of flesh-colored string.

“You read my mind,” said Fred, grinning. “Let’s see if St. Mungo’s puts Imperturbable Charms on its ward doors, shall we?”

He and George disentangled the string and separated five Extendable Ears from each other. Fred and George handed them around. Harry hesitated to take one.

“Go on, Harry, take it! You saved Dad’s life, if anyone’s got the right to eavesdrop on him it’s you…. Sorry guys,” George glanced over his shoulder at the shinobi, “we don’t have enough for you, I’m sure you understand.”

The shinobi just waved them off, not needing the wizard devices to hear what was being said in the ward.

Grinning in spite of himself, Harry took the end of the string and inserted it into his ear as the twins had done.

“Okay, go!” said Fred.

The flesh-colored strings wriggled like long skinny worms, then snaked under the door. For a few seconds Harry could hear nothing, then he heard Tonks whispering as clearly as though she were standing right beside him.

“…they searched the whole area but they couldn’t find the snake anywhere, it just seemed to have vanished after it attacked you, Arthur…. But You-Know-Who can’t have expected a snake to get in, can he?”

“I reckon he sent it as a lookout,” growled Moody, “cause he’s not had any luck so far, has he? No, I reckon he’s trying to get a clearer picture of what he’s facing and if Arthur hadn’t been there the beast would’ve had much more time to look around. So Potter says he saw it all happen?”

“Yes,” said Mrs. Weasley. She sounded rather uneasy. “You know, Dumbledore seems almost to have been waiting for Harry to see something like this….”

“Yeah, well,” said Moody, “there’s something funny about the Potter kid, we all know that.”

“Dumbledore seemed worried about Harry when I spoke to him this morning,” whispered Mrs. Weasley.

“’Course he’s worried,” growled Moody. “The boy’s seeing things from inside You-Know-Who’s snake…. Obviously, Potter doesn’t realize what that means, but if You-Know-Who’s possessing him—”

Harry pulled the Extendable Ear out of his own, his heart hammering very fast and heat rushing up his face. He looked around at the others. The Weasleys were all staring at him, the strings still trailing from their ears, looking suddenly fearful. The shinobi, however, were mostly still apparently minding their own business and not really looking at him, all except Naruto, who smiled slightly and shook his head slowly.


	16. A Very Merry Ninja Christmas

Chapter 16: A Very Merry Ninja Christmas

 

“Are you sure you’re alright, Harry, dear?” whispered Mrs. Weasley, leaning across Ginny to speak to him as the train rattled along through its dark tunnel. “You don’t look very well. Are you feeling sick?”

They were all staring at him. He shook his head violently and stared up at an advertisement for home insurance. Naruto came over and plopped down on the other side of him, pushing Mad-Eye out of the way.

“Hey, Harry, mind if I have a word with you?” the blond looked at him curiously. “That would be all right, right, Mad-Eye? We’ll just be over there, still within sight, just not where everyone can hear.”

To Harry’s, and almost everyone else’s, surprise, the ex-Auror nodded, it was a well known fact that he distrusted the foreigners. Naruto jumped up with a grin and dragged the stunned brunet over to an empty section not too far away. He shoved Harry into a seat and once again flopped down next to him.

“I know what you heard back there, and what you’re thinking,” the ANBU sighed. “I’d like to tell you a story, it’s a legend from my village, maybe it’s a myth, or possibly a fairy tale, I’m not sure.”

The wizard looked at him in confusion. He knew from experience that the blond only rambled when he was nervous, but telling him a story shouldn’t make him nervous, should it? He finally nodded to show Naruto he was listening.

“Okay, so there was once a boy, a very lonely boy with no family, who everyone hated. He didn’t know why the people in his village treated him like they did, but as time went on he grew used to it, granted he didn’t like it at all. He resolved to himself that he would prove himself to his village and make them respect him. He even said he’d become the leader of the village and they’d have to look up to him.

“Now, as the boy grew up, he became horrid, not evil, but a nasty prankster, just to get people to notice him, even if it was only to yell at him.”

“This isn’t a very good story, Naruto,” Harry gave him a longsuffering look. “So if you don’t mind, please get to the point.”

“Fine,” the shinobi rolled his eyes in mock annoyance. “Anyway, one day he found out why everyone hated him: one of his teachers told him of a way he could get ahead in his classes and so, foolishly, the boy followed his advice. Only the teacher was setting him up, he wanted what the boy had taken and was going to use it to betray his village. Only before he could take what he wanted from the boy, another teacher found them.

“Trying to convince the other teacher of the boy’s worthlessness, he said some very mean and hurtful things. But he finally did the one thing that no one else would do; he told the boy the truth. He told him why everyone hated him and treated him so badly. You see, on the day the boy was born, the village was being attacked by a demon, and the leader at that time decided that the only way to save the village was to lock the demon away inside a newborn baby. The boy was chosen to be the one, for whatever reason that was.

“The leader died that day, sacrificing himself for his village, but saving it in the process. Many lives were lost in that battle and everyone blamed the boy for it, because he had the demon locked inside him.”

“So what happened to the boy after he found out about that?” Harry asked, feeling a connection to the boy in the tale.

“He continued on,” Naruto smiled, glad that Harry was feeling something for his story. “The other teacher befriended him and took him under his wing, looking out for him like a father would, not caring that the boy housed the thing that had taken his parents away from him. As time passed, the boy made more friends, and even after they found out he had the demon they stuck by him and supported him. He became a great asset to the village, never backing down from a challenge and even breaking the cold exteriors of some of the most dangerous people imaginable.”

“Did he ever become leader of the village, like he wanted?” Harry asked, now hoping the story had a happier ending than it already did.

“I don’t remember,” the blond scratched his head sheepishly, he didn’t want to get into the future and have it turn out false, he knew how the village, especially the elders, still felt about him. “But the point, Harry, is that his friends stuck by him; it didn’t matter to them that he had a demon inside him, they still cared about him as a person. So, even if Voldemort is possessing you, your true friends will stick with you no matter what.”

“I wish I could believe that, Naruto,” Harry sighed. “But you saw the way they looked at me when they heard. I’m a danger to everyone around me, he could be using me to spy on everyone.”

He went back over to the others, leaving Naruto to shake his head sadly.

“Harry, dear, are you _sure_ you’re all right?” said Mrs. Weasley in a worried voice, as they walked around the unkempt patch of grass in the middle of Grimmauld Place. “You look ever so pale…. Are you sure you slept this morning? You go upstairs to bed right now, and you can have a couple of hours’ sleep before dinner, all right?”

He nodded, here was a ready-made excuse not to talk to any of the others, which was precisely what he wanted, so when she opened the front doo he proceeded straight past the troll’s leg umbrella stand and up the stairs and hurried into his and Ron’s bedroom.

“I’m going to follow him,” Naruto told the others. “I just want to make sure he doesn’t do something stupid, okay?”

“You don’t have to explain to us, Naruto,” Shikamaru sighed. “You are the captain here. Now go look after your charge, we’ll be fine.”

The others nodded in agreement. He smiled at their understanding and took off up the stairs. Sakura and Ino followed a moment later, both of them happily babbling about babies in their native tongue. Choji headed down to the kitchen with Mrs. Weasley, both of them discussing food. Kiba and the twins headed off to discuss some pranks the twins were coming up with. Shikamaru went into the drawing room to enjoy the view provided and probably catch up on some sleep. Shino went off to do whatever it was he did with his free time. TenTen, realizing it was only her and the two Hyuugas left of their group, decided to join Sakura and Ino to give the cousins a chance to talk. Neji, noticing his former teammate’s sudden disappearance, silently thanked her and led his cousin into the library.

“Have a seat, Hinata, we need to talk,” he said as soon as the door was closed.

She nodded as she took a seat on the long sofa, folding her hands in her lap so as not to fidget. He sat down next to her and turned to face her.

“I know you have questions,” he began. “And I know what I said earlier confused you. But I will let you know now that I know what I’m doing and I’m not trying to hurt anyone.”

“But what about father’s plans?” Hinata asked, tears pooling in her eyes. She had become close to her cousin in the past few years, but not in the way Hiashi wanted. She could never see Neji as anything other than a cousin, more like a big brother.

“According to Naruto and Iruka, he can’t fight us,” Neji said quietly, reaching out and squeezing her small hands reassuringly, though whether it was solely for her he wasn’t sure. “Apparently, there is a law that forbids anyone to force two shinobi to wed. If either one of us wants out of the contract, we’re free.”

“Oh Neji,” tears pooled in her eyes as she threw her arms around him in a fierce hug, “that’s the best news I’ve had in so long. I’ll stand up with you, you know that right?”

“You don’t have to, Hinata,” he shook his head. “I can take the brunt of this and you will still be in your father’s good graces.”

“I don’t care about that,” she waved dismissively. “What’s the worst he could do; disown me and make Hanabi the heir? Fine by me.”

“When did you become like this, cousin?” he asked incredulously. “You’ve never been able to stand up to anyone before, much less your father.”

“I won’t let him stand in the way of your happiness, Neji,” she graced him with her beautiful smile. “Besides, I’ve been spending more time with TenTen in your absence and I have to say she’s been a good influence on me.”

“In that case, I’ll have to leave more often,” he chuckled slightly.

“Don’t you dare,” she swatted him playfully. “Now tell me about how you finally came to your senses and staked a claim on Naruto.”

888888

The next evening, Hermione and the Sand shinobi arrived. Hermione retreated upstairs to find Harry. Temari went in search of Sakura, saying she was tired of hanging around her brothers and needed some female companionship. Kankuro was assaulted as soon as he entered the door by one very excited brunette kunoichi, who threw herself into his arms and began kissing him passionately. Upon seeing this, Gaara went off in search of Naruto to get a report on the happenings of Grimmauld Place since he arrived.

Upstairs, after Harry realized he wasn’t being possessed by Voldemort, the four wizarding students sat together in companionable silence for a few minutes, until Hermione pulled something out of her bag which made the two boys groan.

“Why, Hermione?” Ron pleaded. “Why do you insist on carting that damn scroll around with you everywhere?”

“Because I want to find out everything I can,” she rolled her eyes exasperatedly. “Honestly, don’t you think it would be advantageous to our side if we had outside support of some very strong ninja, especially if Voldemort gets a hold of the Akatsuki?”

“Huh?” Ginny looked at the three older teens in confusion.

Hermione quickly filled her in, “And anyway,” she checked her watch, “Draco should be arriving any minute.”

“What?!” the two boys almost yelled, but managed to keep it down so as not to alert the whole house.

“I talked with him yesterday, quite a lot actually, and I made a Portkey for him to be able to get here from Malfoy Manor and back again without raising an alarm or suspicion. Let me tell you, it wasn’t easy either. We both looked into it and finally worked it out. And he’s not that bad, really, once you learn to see past his sarcasm and demeaning attitude. Anyway, he said he had something he needed to share with the three of us together.”

As if on cue, Draco Malfoy appeared before them, clutching a necklace in his hands. As soon as he landed, he straightened himself out and looked around imperiously, giving the room an elegant sneer before sinking down on Harry’s bed with the others.

“Hello, Draco,” Hermione smiled slightly.

“Hermione,” he returned with a nod. “Ron, Harry, and why is the Weaselette here?”

“Her name is Ginny,” Hermione gave him a hard look. “And she doesn’t have anyone else to talk to, so she’s staying.”

“Fine, whatever,” the blond waved dismissively. “Is she caught up to speed? I don’t have all day to sit here and explain to her what the rest of us already know, I need to be back home before I’m missed.”

“Alright,” Hermione sighed. “And yes, she is caught up, I just finished before you arrived. Now what was this news you had for us?”

“Well,” he shifted slightly, suddenly uncomfortable in their presence. “Now don’t be mad at me for what I’m about to say, but I think that the foreigners in Gryffindor are ninja. The fact that some of them left at the same time as Harry and the Weasleys just confirms my suspicion.”

“They’re here,” Harry gave him a curious look. “And why would that make you think they are ninja?”

“A while back I had Naruto cornered and Gaara interrupted us,” he looked down sheepishly, causing Hermione to giggle softly earning her a glare. “Before they left, Gaara trapped me to the wall with sand, without drawing his wand. I don’t know why they are here, but I think it has something to do with Harry.”

“Fair enough,” Hermione nodded. “Let’s see if we can confirm your suspicions. Who should we look up first? I think I’ve finally figured out how to use this damn scroll.”

“Let’s look up Naruto first,” Draco supplied.

She nodded and took the scroll in both hands, ready to pull it open. “Naruto Uzumaki,” she said clearly and opened it, only to find it blank.

“Damn!” the blond muttered. “I was sure they were ninja.”

“Don’t give up that easily,” Ron shook his head. “Try the others.”

Harry took the scroll from Hermione’s hand and looked it over curiously.

“Maybe we’re doing it wrong,” he bit his lip and mimicked Hermione’s hold on it. “Maybe we’re being too specific, let’s try a family.”

“Alright,” Hermione nodded. “Who should we start with?”

“Not now,” Malfoy quickly stood and the others followed suit. “I should be getting back home. Mother will be looking for me soon, seeing as it is the first day back.”

“Alright,” Harry shrugged. “We’ll just wait till later then. And Malfoy, maybe we could start over. I mean, you’ve been really helpful this year with this research, so you can’t be the arrogant prat I always took you for.”

He stepped forward and extended his hand to the blond Slytherin. Draco smirked and took the proffered hand. Suddenly, Ginny burst into a fit of giggles. The four older teens looked at her in confusion, Harry and Draco’s hands still clasped.

“What?” Malfoy finally sneered, not liking being laughed at.

She pointed to the ceiling and all of them looked up. There, hanging innocently above the two boys’ heads, was a sprig of mistletoe. Harry groaned and quickly released Malfoy’s hand, just realizing he was still holding it.

“Come on, Harry,” Hermione chuckled, quickly glancing at Draco. “It’s tradition, give poor Draco a kiss.”

“I think Sirius just put it up as a joke,” Ron eyed the innocent plant warily and took a step back. “I’m sure he didn’t mean for Harry to kiss anyone. Or me for that matter,” he muttered under his breath.

“Sirius? As in Sirius Black?” Draco raised an elegant brow in question and then smirked. “Ha, I knew I was right about that dog at the train station. Let’s just get this over with, Harry.”

“That’s what you said last time,” the brunet muttered almost indistinctly as the blond pulled him close.

“Oh, did I?” Malfoy pulled the slightly smaller boy closer so their bodies were flush and whispered so only Harry could hear, “Were you disappointed, Potter? Maybe I’ll just have to make it up to you.”

“Wha—?”

But his words were cut off as Draco covered his mouth with his own in a languid kiss. As Harry started to relax in his arms, the blond began nibbling on his lower lip. His lips parted, almost of their own volition, and Malfoy slipped his tongue past them into the moist cavern and began to explore, almost seeming to memorize it.

They finally pulled apart as they heard a throat being cleared. Malfoy smirked down at the slightly dazed look on the Gryffindor’s face before releasing him.

“Well, I should be going. Later,” and he grabbed the necklace and was gone.

“What was that about, mate?” Ron was glowing a bright red and looking at Harry as if he’d lost his mind.

“Oh come off it, Ronald,” Hermione smacked his arm playfully. “You have to admit that was hot!”

“I agree,” Ginny piped up, almost the same color as her brother. “So Harry, would you go out with Draco if he asked you?”

“What?” Harry shook his head, trying to clear it.

“Well,” Hermione began, “it’s apparent you enjoyed that kiss much more than the one with Cho the other day, so I agree, would you go out with him if he asked? You two do make a lovely couple.”

“What are you two on about?” Ron asked incredulously. “Harry’s not even gay. Right, mate?”

“I—I don’t know,” Harry shrugged helplessly, recalling Naruto’s words from the other day.

“Besides, even if Harry was,” Ron brushed off his friend’s uncertainty. “Malfoy’s not.”

“You just saw the snog he gave Harry, Ron,” Ginny shook her head in annoyance.

“I can say with certainty that he most definitely is gay,” Hermione smiled smugly. “He told me so himself. What did you honestly think that thing with Naruto and Gaara was about?”

“A duel?” Ron tried, his eyes begging the brunette witch to be lying.

She shook her head, “Naruto and Neji were the reason Draco realized he was gay, he saw them kissing. And he had a crush on Naruto ever since, though I think he doesn’t anymore.”

888888

Christmas morning arrived without much mishap at Grimmauld Place. Draco, apparently, wasn’t able to get away from his family but it didn’t bother the others of their small conspiracy. They had decided to wait to check the scroll, as they said they would, but kept an eye on the foreigners for any sign that they might be ninja. However, the only thing they found out, that they didn’t already know, was that Ino and Choji were a couple, as were Kankuro and TenTen, and, amazingly enough, Sakura and Temari. The last of which Ginny had found snogging in the bedroom they shared with all the other girls.

Naruto woke on Christmas morning to Harry, Hermione, and all the Weasley kids banging the door open. He sat up, instantly alert with a kunai in his hands. The other shinobi were quick to follow, with the exception of Shikamaru, who was still sleeping.

“Lazy ass,” Naruto muttered before turning to the wizards. “Don’t do that again, we could’ve killed you!”

“Not likely, mate,” Fred grinned, missing the look Ron shot Harry, and tossed a wrapped package at the blond’s head.

On reflex, Naruto caught it right before it connected with his skull. He then set it down at the foot of the bed and eyed the wizards curiously, as they all had wrapped packages in their arms.

“Nice catch!” the twins said in unison.

“These are for you,” Hermione explained at his blank look. “It’s Christmas.”

“What’s Christmas?” Gaara asked in his usual monotone.

“It’s a holiday they celebrate here,” Neji supplied. “Sirius explained it to me yesterday, after he fooled me into helping him with the decorating.”

“Aww, poor Neji,” Naruto gave him a mock sympathetic look. “So those are for us?”

“Yep,” George grinned, now passing out the parcels in his arms. “These are from Mum, Fred’s handing out the ones from us. And of course, the others each got you their own, the only one who didn’t get anything is Shika there, cause well, we don’t know him and didn’t have time to shop for him.”

“That’s okay,” the blond grinned. “He can share with me, besides he’ll probably be taking it all home with him when he goes. Oi, Shika, wake up,” he elbowed the shadow ninja in the ribs.

“Ugh, Naruto,” Shikamaru groaned, rolling over. “It’s too early, wake me up at around noon, I’m on vacation.”

“Get up you lazy ass,” Naruto shook his head and began poking the sleeping brunet. “Besides, I’m going to pester you until you do.”

“I hate you, you know that,” Shikamaru sat up with a yawn, before pulling Naruto into a choke hold.

“Let him go, Shikamaru,” Neji glared at the other brunet, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

“Lighten up, Neji, sheesh,” Shikamaru sighed. “Now what was so important that I get up at this ungodly hour?”

“I’ve got presents to unwrap,” the blond said happily. “And since you didn’t get any, I’ve decided you can help me with mine.”

“Troublesome,” the lazy ninja muttered, taking the box George offered.

He unwrapped it while Naruto worked on the one Fred had tossed to him. The other shinobi were busily unwrapping Mrs. Weasley’s presents to them as well. Finally, Shikamaru got the paper off and opened the box.

“Oh shit,” he said, lobbing the box away from him and pinning Naruto to the bed. “Get it out of here!”

“What?” the Weasleys looked at the two shinobi on the bed curiously.

“Mum didn’t poison it or anything,” Ron said in mild irritation.

Gaara leaned over and picked up the box off the floor and peered inside.

“Kankuro, gather Mrs. Weasley’s presents and take them out of here,” he said calmly, but his eyes were wide and watching Naruto like a hawk. “You’ll know what to do.”

The puppeteer went to his brother’s side and took a peek into the box as well. “Ah,” was all he said before taking the box and quickly checking the others. He only grabbed Kiba’s though before heading out of the room.

“Hey!” Kiba protested violently. “That’s mine! Bring me back my present! Akamaru fetch!”

“Hyuuga, stop him,” Gaara commanded, still not looking away from Naruto, who was just starting to struggle against Shikamaru. “If you want it, Inuzuka, go out into the hall and you can eat it there.”

But Neji wasn’t fast enough to catch the little pup before he slipped out of the room, it didn’t help matters that Fred and George had blocked his path, demanding answers.

“Bring me back my present, I want to see what I got,” Naruto began kicking futilely at Shikamaru, his arms being pinned down.

“No, Naruto, I will not allow that back in here at the present time,” Shikamaru shook his head.

At that moment, they heard a growl coming from the hall and Kankuro screaming at Akamaru. Not a minute later, the pup was dragging Kiba’s present back into the room, with the contents clearly visible to everyone. Naruto stopped struggling at once when his eyes fell on the open package. Everyone followed his gaze to the white frosted cake lying innocently inside.

“Gaara!” Shikamaru yelled as Naruto began struggling harder in an attempt to get at the package, almost succeeding in throwing the shadow ninja off.

The redhead vaulted from his bed and grabbed the blond’s flailing legs, pinning them down.

“Naruto, get control!” he commanded sternly, but the blond didn’t seem to hear him.

“Damn it, Kyuubi, let Naruto back in control and you can have some cake once the wizards are gone, understood?”

Naruto once again fell still, but the eyes he turned to the Kazekage were bright red, “Give me some cake, Sabaku, or there’ll be hell to pay.”

“Damn it,” Gaara muttered under his breath and then raised his voice loud enough to carry into the hall, “KANKURO! Everyone else, out!”

The puppet master poked his head back into the room and took in the state of the three on the bed. Kiba, Shino, and Neji ushered the wizards out of the room to give their captain some privacy while he dealt with his demon.

“What was that about?” Harry asked once the door was shut behind them.

“I’m not sure,” Neji shook his head, curious as to Kyuubi’s actions, he’d never seen him like that before.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Kiba butted in. “Naruto can’t handle being around cake without going nuts. I just wish they’d clued us in before allowing me to do something that stupid.”

“Oh yes,” Shino rolled his eyes, his sunglasses still back in the room, “that would’ve been the best possible solution. ‘If there is someone who received a cake for Christmas would they kindly take it out into the hall, so Naruto won’t go crazy.’ I could imagine that going over just as well. I just want to know how Kankuro and Gaara knew.”

“Birthday party,” Kiba said suddenly, snapping his fingers.

“Excuse me?” Fred asked incredulously. “There wasn’t a cake at Naruto’s party.”

“Didn’t you think that was suspicious in and of itself?” Neji shook his head, knowing what Kiba was talking about. “It’s obvious, Gaara planned the party this year, he must have found out last year, when he threw Naruto his last party, that he would react that way to a cake.”

“And Shikamaru?” George asked in confusion. “How the hell did he know about it? I mean, aren’t you his boyfriend, Neji?”

“Naruto lives with Shikamaru,” Harry supplied. “He told me so at the beginning of the year. That’s how he knew.”

“But why hasn’t he done something like this before now?” Hermione shook her head. “I mean, there are always cakes in the Great Hall for dessert.”

“Gaara must’ve been keeping them out of sight,” Neji sighed, it was the only logical explanation.

At that moment, Kankuro slipped out into the hallway, shaking his head. Everyone turned to him expectantly.

“What happened?” Harry asked. “Did you get him calmed down? Is he going to be alright?”

“He’s fine,” Kankuro chuckled slightly. “Though I’m sorry, Inuzuka, you no longer have a cake to enjoy.”

“What?” the dog shinobi’s jaw opened in shock.

“Sorry,” the puppeteer shrugged. “Apparently, the small cake he got in his own present wasn’t enough to satisfy him, so he devoured yours as well. Consider yourself lucky though, you should’ve seen how he treated Temari when she threatened to eat all the cake at his last birthday party.”

Shikamaru came out into the hallway then, his hands shoved in his pockets, “This is such a drag. Naruto’s back in control now, but he wants to be left alone, he’s rather embarrassed, he doesn’t usually lose control like that. And we should talk to Mrs. Weasley about not making any more cakes at the present time.”

“Yeah, probably a good idea,” Kankuro chuckled nervously. “We probably should’ve mentioned it earlier.”

“Might have saved us all some problems,” George rolled his eyes at the two shinobi.

“Enough,” Neji gave the shinobi a look. “I’m sure Naruto is fine now, we’ll just have to be more careful next time. Now why don’t you all go down for breakfast, I’m going to check on him.”

“Alright,” Shikamaru sighed and started down the stairs, but before he got too far he paused. “Oh, and Neji, if you hurt him, I’ll kill you.”

“Get in line,” the Hyuuga shook his head before disappearing back into the bedroom.

888888

Once they had their Christmas lunch, the Weasleys and Harry and Hermione and some of the shinobi; Naruto, Shino, Kankuro, and Temari, were planning to pay Mr. Weasley another visit, escorted by Mad-Eye and Lupin.

The journey to St. Mungo’s was quite quick as there was very little traffic on the roads. A small trickle of witches and wizards were creeping furtively up the otherwise deserted street to visit the hospital. Harry and the others got out of the car, and Mundungus drove off around the corner to wait for them; they strolled casually toward the window where the dummy in green nylon stood, then, one by one, stepped through the glass.

The four shinobi once again remained in the hall, even though Mrs. Weasley insisted that they would be welcome to come inside.

“So Kankuro, fill me in,” Naruto turned to the puppet master. “What happened the last day of term? Gaara gave me a sketchy outline but he didn’t say much, one would think he spent that time staring into space.”

“He did,” the brunet rolled his eyes. “He was almost at his wits end with boredom. Not that I blame him, I wasn’t much better. Temari, however, got a bit of action, as her charge was still there.”

“Temari?” Naruto cocked a brow in question.

“Hermione met with Malfoy again,” the kunoichi shook her head. “They spent the better part of the last day in the library discussing Portkeys. I think we might have to keep an eye out for him at Grimmauld Place over the break.”

“Anything else they talked about?” the ANBU captain asked curiously. “I mean last time you came back with news, Sakura and I had to step in and sidetrack the Akatsuki.”

“They didn’t talk about anything new on that account,” she sighed. “Apparently, either Voldemort gave up his quest for shinobi aide or Malfoy’s father isn’t telling him anymore. He did say, however, that he has something to share with the three Gryffindors next time they meet.”

“I see,” Naruto nodded.

At that moment, the door opened and Bill, Fred, and George came out into the hallway. The three brothers didn’t seem to notice the shinobi as they took off down the hall. Shino gave a brief nod to Naruto and followed them.

It didn’t take more than a couple minutes for Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny to exit the room as well. As the door swung closed behind them, they heard Mrs. Weasley shriek, “WHAT DO YOU MEAN, THAT’S THE GENERAL IDEA?”

“Typical Dad,” said Ginny, shaking her head as they set off up the corridor, with the remaining shinobi falling in behind them. “Stitches… I ask you…”

“Well, you know, they do work well on non-magical wounds,” said Hermione fairly. “I suppose something in that snake’s venom dissolves them or something…. I wonder where the tea room is?”

“Are you saying that Mr. Weasley gave himself stitches?” Kankuro asked incredulously. “Is he insane? I wouldn’t even trust Sakura with that job.”

“He had the Healer in training do it, but yeah,” said Harry. “And it’s on the fifth floor, Hermione.”

They walked along the corridor through a set of double doors and found a rickety staircase lined with more portraits of brutal-looking Healers. As they climbed it, the various Healers called out to them, diagnosing odd complaints and suggesting horrible remedies. Ron was seriously affronted when a medieval wizard called out that he clearly had a bad case of spattergroit.

“And what’s that supposed to be?” he asked angrily, as the Healer pursued him through six more portraits, shoving the occupants out of the way.”

“’Tis a most grievous affliction of the skin, young master, that will leave you pockmarked and more gruesome even that you are now—”

“Watch who you’re calling gruesome!” said Ron, his ears turning red.

“The only remedy is to take the liver of a toad, bind it tight against your throat, stand naked by the full moon in a barrel of eels’ eyes—”

“I have not got spattergroit!”

“But the unsightly blemishes upon your visage, young master—”

“They’re freckles!” said Ron furiously. “Now get back in your own picture and leave me alone!”

“Well then, fine!” the Healer huffed and then spotted Naruto. “And as for you, young master,” those scars are easily removed—”

“What the hell?” the blond turned to him incredulously. “I happen to like my scars, thank you. It gives me character. How many people do you know who have whisker like scars on their face?”

“Uh, no one, but all it would take is a bit of hot silver, dipped in frog spleen and they’d be gone.”

“I think I’ll keep the hot silver away from my face, thanks,” the ANBU rolled his eyes. “I have enough problems with things coming into contact with it without being stupid enough to injure myself.”

He quickly caught up to the others as Ron rounded on the others, who were all keeping determinedly straight faces.

They spent the rest of the day sequestered in the closed ward for long term patients. And then returned to number 12, Grimmauld Place. (1)

That evening after dinner, the trio plus Ginny, were once again locked up inside Ron and Harry’s room, waiting to see if their final conspirator would join them. Harry kept trying to forget about his kiss the other day, but it wasn’t an easy task considering, as they waited, both Ginny and Hermione kept shooting him furtive glances and snickering.

It was almost midnight and they were about to call it a night when Malfoy finally appeared. He looked exhausted and sank down on the bed gratefully.

“So, you guys figure anything out without me?” he asked by way of greeting.

“No,” Hermione shook her head. “We said we’d wait for you to return before checking the scroll, and they haven’t been doing anything strange.”

“If you say so,” Ron scoffed.

“What? What happened?” the Slytherin looked at Ron in confusion.

“Naruto had some sort of fit this morning when he found out there was a cake in one of the presents,” Harry sighed. “Shikamaru and Gaara seemed to know it would happen and restrained him.”

“Shikamaru?” Draco looked confused. “Who the hell is that?”

“Oh, right,” Hermione smacked her forehead. “We forgot to tell you, five more of them arrived the day Ron and Harry got here. There’s Ino and Choji, who are a couple, Hinata, Neji’s cousin, TenTen, who is Kankuro’s girlfriend, and Shikamaru, Naruto’s housemate.

“And that didn’t seem strange at all?” the blond shook his head. “Honestly, you guys are too trusting.”

“Dumbledore obviously knew they were coming,” the brunette witch rolled her eyes. “It’s not like we can question him about who he allows into the house. I mean, besides you, no one can enter the house without him letting them.”

“Anyway, it’s been a long day and I need to get some sleep for tomorrow,” Malfoy sighed. “So are we going to try the scroll again?”

“We wouldn’t want you to miss out on your beauty sleep,” Ginny giggled.

“Are we going to take Harry’s suggestion and look up a family first?” Hermione pulled out the scroll, hoping to hedge off an argument before it started.

The other three nodded in agreement.

“Wait, what if we’re wrong about how this scroll works?” Malfoy shook his head. “I mean, we’ve never seen a name before, right?”

“I have,” she sighed. “But it was a dead person’s name.”

“Going off that,” Harry spoke up, “why don’t we check out Uchiha?”

“Why?” the blond looked at him in confusion.

“Naruto’s friend, whatever his name is, is an Uchiha,” the raven haired teen shrugged. “And according to Naruto his family was killed. So, logically, if we looked up the Uchihas then we’d be looking up dead people and it should give us a name. And it would test your theory on how to work the scroll, Hermione.”

“Right,” she nodded, impressed by his logic. “So we’re looking up the Uchihas.”

She opened the scroll and found a small paragraph written there.

“It worked!” she looked up excitedly. “Well, it’s not much but it still worked. ‘The Uchiha clan, famed users of the Kekkei Genkai Sharingan. Only two members remain of this once prestigious clan after the massacre by one of their own.’”

“Wow, that wasn’t much,” Ron shook his head. “Which was the Sharingan again?”

“The one that allows them to copy other jutsus,” Hermione answered automatically. “Let’s try another. Didn’t Kankuro tell you that his parents are dead? So let’s look up Sabaku.”

“No, Gaara told us,” Ron rolled his eyes, almost interrupting her.

Hermione rolled her eyes back and opened the scroll. She looked down and gasped, before dragging her eyes away from the parchment and looking at the others in amazement.

“I’ve found him!”

“What?” Draco and Harry sat up immediately.

“What do you mean, you found him?” Harry clarified. “We were looking up the family, not a specific person.”

“It must be the fact that Ron butted in before I opened the scroll,” Hermione waved him off before beginning to read, “Sabaku no Gaara. Current rank: Kazekage of Suna.”

“Wait a minute,” Harry’s eyes narrowed. “I knew it! I knew I’d heard that title before. Gaara said it in our first Divination class of the year. Remember, Ron?”

“Uh, no mate,” the redhead looked at him curiously.

“Trelawney asked him his name and he said Sabaku no Gaara, Kazekage of Suna. I can’t believe I forgot about it.”

“Well considering she predicted his early death immediately afterward, which caused the others to laugh, it’s not all that surprising,” Ron shook his head, suddenly remembering the event.

“She what?” Hermione looked up from the scroll. “She predicted his death?”

“Yeah, said he’d die a violent death at the hands of his enemies, he said something in Japanese and the others laughed.” Ron gave her a curious look, “Why?”

“Because he died,” she explained, pointing to a passage on the scroll. “It says here ‘Sabaku no Gaara was the jinchuuriki of Shukaku, the one-tailed raccoon dog. He was captured by Deidara and Sasori of the organization Akatsuki. The Akatsuki took the bijuu from him in a complex ritual which left the vessel dead. Chiyo, with the help of Uzumaki Naruto, sacrificed herself and brought Gaara back to life.”

“Look up Uzumaki Naruto,” Malfoy commanded excitedly. “It could be that we said the name wrong.”

“Fine,” she shook her head and did as he said. “It’s all here. One Uzumaki Naruto. Current rank: ANBU captain. Important facts: Jinchuuriki of Kyuubi no Kitsune, the nine-tailed fox.’”

“Oh my god!” Harry looked between Ron and Hermione. “Oh… my… god! This morning, that was Kyuubi!”

“What are you on about?” Ron shook his head in confusion.

“Gaara, while talking to Naruto this morning during the cake incident, called him Kyuubi, I didn’t understand much else, but I did catch that.”

“Look up the Hyuugas,” Ron’s brow narrowed in thought. “I want to check something out, specifically Neji. I overheard a conversation between him and Naruto that I just remembered.”

“Well, well,” a voice said from the doorway, “it appears Temari had you all pegged right, after all.”

“Who are you?” Draco shot up, his wand in his hand instantly.

“You must be Malfoy,” the shinobi shook his head. “This is such a drag. I have orders to escort you from the property.”

“Look, Shikamaru,” Harry stepped forward, between the shinobi and the blond. “I don’t know what your orders are, but no one can know he’s here. He could be killed.”

“I didn’t know you cared, Potter,” Malfoy smirked.

“Get over yourself, Malfoy,” Harry spat back. “I don’t care about you personally, I would just hate to see you die for a stupid reason.”

“Sorry, Harry, orders are orders,” Shikamaru shrugged, taking a step toward the blond. “And I personally don’t want to get on Gaara’s bad side.”

“I’ve got a deal for you,” Harry said boldly. “We won’t say anything to Gaara or Naruto about all this, and you let him go in peace.”

“That wouldn’t matter, she’s bugged,” he nodded toward Ginny. “So either way, Naruto will get a report on what’s going on, and if I don’t follow orders and Gaara finds out, I’m dead where I stand. However, I think I might have a solution for all this.”

“And that is?” the Slytherin asked curiously, it was his neck involved too.

“You hire me to protect you,” Shikamaru shrugged. “That way I don’t have to kill you, and Gaara can’t kill me for doing my job. Naruto might be a bit disappointed, but I can live with that.”

“How much?” Harry said quietly, knowing he would pay if no one else could.

“Standard rate,” Shikamaru said evenly. “I believe the others are receiving ten Galleons a month, take it or leave it.”

“I’ll take it,” Draco answered, fishing in his pockets. “I’ll hire you till the end of the year. That’s six months, so sixty Galleons.”

“Fine,” Shikamaru smirked. “I’ll have the contract by the time school starts again, I’ll take the money then. Now I suggest you get out of here before someone else finds you. Oh, and by the way, the others will know, I do have to report to my superiors, and I wasn’t lying about her, however, they can’t do anything about it if I’m working for you. And before you go, if you use that information against Naruto, I’ll kill you, contract or no.”

 

(1 If you want to know what happened in the closed ward, it’s all in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I didn’t have the ninjas interact in that bit.)


	17. A New Slytherin

Chapter 17: A New Slytherin

 

“Gaara, we need to talk,” Naruto slammed the door as he entered the shinobi’s bedroom on the last day of the holidays, a paper clutched in his clenched fist.

“About?” the Kazekage turned a calm gaze on his enraged friend.

“Shikamaru just handed me this,” he tossed the paper onto the bed. “Since we’re not in Konoha, he’s playing it safe and wants both our signatures. He says Grandma Tsunade’s okay with this.”

“Did you not verify this information?” Gaara sighed, picking up the paper.

“I did, and she says its fine,” the blond replied sarcastically. “I don’t know what’s come over either one of them.”

The redhead perused the paper, his eyes widening in silent disbelief at what he saw.

“Get Shikamaru in here, now!” he ordered sternly.

The Leaf ANBU nodded and left the room to find his comrade. Gaara’s thoughts were jumbled. How the hell did Shikamaru come up with this? What the hell was he thinking? Why was he willing to protect Malfoy of all people? Of course, that thought was a bit biased, Gaara hadn’t liked the pale blond ever since he caught him with Naruto. But that didn’t matter, he’d get to the bottom of all this when the ninja in question arrived.

It didn’t take long for Naruto to locate his friend and bring him back to the Kazekage. When the door closed behind them, Shikamaru stood before the Kazekage and the ANBU captain. He wasn’t worried, neither one really had any authority over his actions, he wasn’t a Suna ninja and he wasn’t part of Naruto’s squad, they would both bow to the Hokage’s demands in the end.

“Would you care to explain this?” Gaara said quietly.

“What’s to explain?” Shikamaru shrugged. “I made the contract myself, it’s all in there.”

“What the hell were you thinking, Shika?” Naruto cut in. “Protecting Malfoy? Are you insane?”

“It seemed like a good idea at the time,” the lazy ninja sighed. “He needed a viable way out of a troublesome situation, I gave him one. And I was helping protect Potter at the same time, he probably would’ve run after Malfoy if I’d thrown him out.”

“You mean he was here, and you’re just now telling us?” the blond almost yelled. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“This is such a drag,” Shikamaru rolled his eyes. “Yes, he was here. Yes, I was going to tell you. Yes, I offered to protect him. Anything else you’d like to know?”

“I think I’ve already asked twice now,” Naruto shook his head. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“I was thinking,” the brunet sighed, “that with me keeping an eye on Malfoy, I’d be able to keep him quiet. I’m not doing this for him, I’m doing this for all of us. For every village in the ninja community. Sometimes you have to do troublesome things to keep things the way they’ve always been.”

“Explain,” Gaara commanded, his brow furrowed.

“They found out about us,” Shikamaru straightened slightly, going into report mode. “More specifically, you two. The Granger girl has a scroll that tells all about us.”

“It’s nothing,” Naruto looked confused. “She’s showed it to us before, and there hasn’t been anything compromising in there, otherwise we would’ve taken it.”

“From what I heard, that’s not accurate,” Shikamaru shook his head. “I’ve never heard of such a scroll before. But apparently if you know who you’re looking for you can find whatever you want about them. At the moment, I stopped them before they could look into anyone other than you two, but that may have been too much for them to find out. They found out about our two highest ranking shinobi present.”

“Shit!” the blond ran his hand through his spikes agitatedly. “I knew we should’ve gotten that scroll earlier.”

“I’ll have Temari get it,” Gaara waved the matter aside. “Then I shall bring it up with Dumbledore. Something like that, with so much sensitive information in it, has no place here.”

“So I have your approval to take on this mission?” Shikamaru asked uninterestedly.

“Oh, yeah,” Naruto shook his head and glanced at the redhead, who nodded.

“And what should we do about the five who know about us?” the brunet smirked. “Should I have Kakashi deal with them, to make them forget?”

“No,” Gaara’s look became calculating. “We have to keep an eye on them anyway, let’s see how long they keep this information to themselves.”

“What about Harry’s connection to Voldemort?” Naruto cocked a brow in curiosity. “We could be giving him some very useful information, especially if he wants the Akatsuki’s aid.”

“We’ll use a seal,” the Kazekage nodded. “We’ll put a block around those memories, we can’t make them forget, that would be too suspicious, however, we can block them so no one else can access them. It is a useful seal that is placed on a spy during times of war. I will get on it tonight.”

“Good, now will you sign the damn paper already, I have to have a meeting with Dumbledore tomorrow, and I can’t very well do that if I don’t have the contract signed.”

888888

Harry wandered around aimlessly for most of the day. Yeah, he’d had to witness a confrontation between Sirius and Snape earlier, but that didn’t mean he should waste the remaining time he had with his godfather, right? Besides, he had some questions he needed help with, and Sirius was the closest thing he had to a father, so he wanted to talk with him. He found him upstairs with Buckbeak.

“Hey, Sirius?” he knocked hesitantly on the doorframe, not wanting to startle the man, or hippogriff for that matter.

“Oh, hey Harry,” Sirius looked up and gave him a half-hearted smile.

“Listen, about earlier,” Harry began.

“Don’t worry about it,” the Animagus shook his head. “You surely didn’t come up here to talk about that. Did you?”

“Not really,” the teen shrugged. “I actually have a problem, and I was hoping you could help me with it.”

“What’s wrong, Harry?” Sirius patted the space next to him on the bed.

“Well,” Harry sank down beside his godfather, but wasn’t quite sure where to start. “I’ve been thinking recently…”

“Good thoughts or bad?” Sirius asked, trying to help him out.

“I’m not sure,” Harry bit his lip nervously. “You see, the day Mr. Weasley was attacked, something happened.”

“Oh?” Sirius encouraged gently.

“Well, this girl kissed me,” Harry sighed.

“Ah, girl trouble,” Sirius smiled knowingly. “I never could figure them out.”

“That’s not all of it,” Harry said quietly. “I kinda told Ron and Hermione about it and Naruto,” he paused, thinking about the new information he had on the shinobi, but shook his head, now wasn’t the time. “Well, Naruto walked in on the middle of our conversation and asked me some strange questions, and then made me think of something I’d never taken into consideration before.”

“Naruto, huh?” Sirius scratched his chin in thought. “Well, I don’t know what he said, but that kid’s got a pretty good head on his shoulders. You know, he kinda reminds me of your dad; smart, funny, and hard not to like, kinda like you. Anyway, what did Naruto say?”

“Well, first he asked me who kissed better,” Harry muttered almost indistinctly.

“Oh?” the Animagus’s brow shot up in surprise. “You mean you’ve kissed more than one person this year?”

“Yeah,” Harry blushed. “The first one was actually forced. Gaara caught Malfoy and me fighting, and him and Naruto broke it up and then he said to kiss and make up.”

“I’m sure he was just joking,” Sirius gaped like a fish.

“Oh, my poor boy,” Sirius wrapped his arm around Harry’s shoulders. “You had to kiss a Malfoy.”

“In truth, he’s a better kisser than Cho,” Harry looked away, his second experience with the blond still vividly clear in his memory.

“Ah, so Naruto asked whether you ever thought about the possibility of being gay?” Sirius asked, smiling.

“Well, yeah,” Harry admitted sheepishly. “I’ve never thought about it before. But I’m beginning to think that I am.”

“Are you worried about what your friends will think?”

“No,” he shook his head. “I mean, Ron was a bit grossed out, but Hermione and Ginny are fine with it. In fact, they suggested I go out with Malfoy. Would you be disappointed with me if I was?”

“I’d be a bit of a hypocrite if I was,” Sirius chuckled slightly.

“What do you mean?” Harry looked at him in disbelief, did that mean what he thought it meant?

“To tell you the truth, I was a bit insecure when I told my friends I was gay,” Sirius shrugged. “Your father took the mickey out of me, that is until he found out who my boyfriend was.”

“Who was your boyfriend?” Harry couldn’t help but ask.

“Oh, he’s still with me,” Sirius smiled conspiratorially. “Moony may have doubted my loyalty for twelve years, but he still loved me.”

“Remus?!” Harry gaped. “You’re boyfriend is Remus? I can’t believe you two kept that fact from me.”

“We didn’t intend to, Harry,” Sirius tried to explain. “But, well, every time we’ve talked there have been more important things to discuss, and I’m sure it just slipped Moony’s mind.”

“And then, of course, there’s the fact that how do you start a conversation like that,” Harry mused. “I mean what was he supposed to say ‘Oh, Harry, by the way, I’m shagging your godfather’?”

“Who’s shagging your godfather, Harry?” a bemused voice came from the doorway.

Both wizards turned and saw Remus standing there, leaning casually against the doorframe.

“Oh, you know,” Harry shrugged, giving his godfather a playful wink, “this really good looking guy he met.”

“Oh?” Remus don’t look amused.

“Yeah,” Harry nodded, wanting to have some fun with the werewolf. “I think I’ve met him before, but I wasn’t sure, so I was asking why he hadn’t told me about them.”

“Sirius!” Remus growled warningly.

Harry couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. Sirius soon joined in when he saw the confused look on his lover’s face.

“We were talking about you, Remus,” Harry finally controlled himself enough to explain.

“Oh, I see,” Remus nodded. “In that case, it might interest you to know that your conversation wasn’t as private as you thought. I caught this one eavesdropping.”

He pulled Naruto in by the collar of his shirt. The blond pouted sullenly. He hated that his cover had been blown, though he wasn’t sure how Lupin had done it.

 **“Werewolf, remember?”** Kyuubi supplied.

“Stupid fox,” Naruto muttered under his breath.

“What did you call me?” Remus looked taken aback. “I can assure you, I am no fox, nor am I stupid.”

Harry stared at the blond for a moment before realization kicked in. Naruto could talk to the demon inside him! That was why he was always muttering to himself. It made perfect sense.

“He’s fine, Remus,” Harry finally shook himself out of his thoughts. “He was probably just wondering if I’d figured out if I was gay or not. Right, Naruto?” he gave him a pointed look.

“Uh, right,” Naruto looked at the wizard in confusion, he knew Harry knew he was a ninja, why wasn’t he telling or at least confronting him about it.

“Anyway, I haven’t decided yet,” Harry shrugged. “I can’t let a couple of kisses rule my judgment either way, right?”

“Uh, it only takes one, actually,” Naruto chuckled. “I mean, I kissed Sakura once and decided then and there I wasn’t into girls. And that was my first kiss. Oh wait, no it wasn’t, I’d forgotten about the bastard.”

“You mean you forgot your first kiss?” Sirius asked, scandalized.

“Well, when trying to repress bad memories, yeah, that’s the general idea,” Naruto shrugged. “I tried to put that experience out of my head.”

“So who’s the better kisser, Naruto?” Harry chuckled, wanting to put the blond on the spot.

“Neji, of course,” blue eyes rolled playfully. “Then would be the bastard, even if it wasn’t an intentional kiss, Sakura is the worst kisser ever, I honestly don’t see what Temari sees in her.”

“Well,” Sirius pushed to his feet. “I hope you think about this Harry, before doing something stupid. But I trust you, even if you do decide to go out with a Malfoy. Now, I believe that the two of you should head to bed, you’ll be returning to school tomorrow.”

“Yeah, probably be a good idea,” Naruto yawned. “Shikamaru will kick my ass if I don’t get a good night’s sleep, or if I keep him from getting one. Hey, Harry, can I sleep with you tonight? I don’t want Shika to kick my ass, that hurts.”

“Why don’t you sleep with your boyfriend instead of your housemate?” Harry asked the question that had been bothering him since Christmas.

“I didn’t think about that,” Naruto cocked his head to the side in thought, causing the three wizards to laugh. “Anyway, if I tried to kick Shika off the bed, he’d kick my ass, and there’s no way I’d ask Gaara to give up his bed, just so I could sleep with my boyfriend. He’d probably kill me just for suggesting it. Besides, between the two of them, I think they’re trying to keep me away from him.”

“Why would they do that?” Sirius asked curiously, he liked the long-haired brunet, he was very practical and had a level head on his shoulders, though maybe a bit too serious at times.

“Oh, they’re just worried about me,” Naruto shrugged. “Never let it be said that Shika and Gaara don’t care. I think both of them have threatened Nej to his face.”

“He must really like you,” Harry chuckled, “if he’s putting up with that type of thing.”

“Oh, he does,” the blond beamed. “He puts up with Gaara and Shika cause they’re my friends, well they’re his too, but anyway. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.”

“Alright, you two,” Remus shook his head. “Off to bed, both of you. I don’t want to hear that either of you had a bad night’s sleep.”

“Yes, mum,” Harry replied sarcastically.

“You’re worse than Shika and Iruka-sensei combined,” Naruto complained as he dragged Harry from the room.

888888

After a hurried breakfast, the shinobi gathered to one side to say their good-byes in a semblance of privacy.

“You take care of yourself, Ino-pig,” Sakura said as she gave the blonde Jounin a hug. “I want you to take it easy. No missions, you can tell Lady Tsunade I said so. And keep me posted. I want to know when this little one makes its appearance into the world.”

“Don’t worry, Billboard Brow,” her friend smiled. “I’ll be fine. You just be sure to come home safely, got it. I’d hate to lose my best friend.”

“I’ll take good care of her, Sakura,” Choji shook the pinkette’s hand. “Don’t you worry about a thing. Keep your mind focused on the mission, alright?”

“You take good care of her, Choji,” Shikamaru said as he hugged his best friend. “I’d hate to lose another teammate.”

“Neji,” Hinata hugged her cousin, just a short distance away, “you be careful, okay? And don’t worry about father, I’ll put him in his place.”

“Thank you, Hinata,” Neji smiled. “I’ll never forget what you’re doing for me.”

“Neji,” TenTen stepped forward to embrace her former teammate, as Hinata moved off to say goodbye to her former teammates as well. “You’ll look out for my boyfriend, won’t you?”

“Of course, TenTen,” Neji nodded. “And I’m trusting you with my cousin’s safety.”

“You can count on me, Neji,” she beamed at him.

“Well, bye everyone,” Naruto finally said as the now nine of them made their way to the door.

The door of number twelve slammed shut behind them. They followed Lupin down the front steps.

“Come on, the quicker we get on the bus the better,” said Tonks, and Harry thought there was nervousness in the glance she threw around the square. Lupin flung out his right arm.

A violently purple, triple-decker bus had appeared out of thin air in front of them, narrowly avoiding the nearest lamppost, which jumped backward out of its way, and was followed by all the shinobi.

A thin, pimply, jug-eared youth in a purple uniform leapt down onto the pavement and said, “Welcome to the—”

“Yes, yes, we know, thank you,” said Tonks swiftly. “On, on, get on—”

And she shoved Harry forward toward the steps, past the conductor, who goggled at Harry as he passed.

“Looks like we’ll have to split up,” said Tonks briskly, looking around for empty chairs, once everyone was onboard. “Fred, George, and Ginny, if you just take those seats at the back… Remus can stay with you….”

“There’s not gonna be enough room for all of us together,” Kiba said quickly. “But we don’t mind standing, so Shino and I can stay down here, too.”

“Yeah, me too,” Shikamaru said after a pointed look from Naruto.

“I’ll stay down here, too,” Kankuro volunteered, realizing they couldn’t all go with their charges.

Tonks looked at them for a moment before relaxing slightly and nodding. She, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the remaining shinobi proceeded up to the very top deck, where there were two chairs at the very front of the bus and two at the back. Naruto, Neji, and Gaara followed Stan Shunpike, the conductor, as he followed Harry and Ron eagerly to the back. Heads turned as Harry passed and when he sat down, he saw all the faces flick back to the front again, but what he didn’t see was the stern look that crossed the shinobi’s faces to cause this reaction.

As Harry, Ron, and their shinobi guards handed Stan eleven Sickles each, the bus took off again, swaying ominously. It rumbled around Grimmauld Square, weaving on and off the pavement, then, with another tremendous BANG, they were all flung backward, well everyone except the shinobi, who managed to keep their feet by placing chakra there to hold them steady.

The ninja paid no heed to where they were traveling, they were more focused on the people getting on and off the bus to care about the outside world. Finally, they were rolling through a snowy Hogsmeade. At last they rolled to a halt outside the gates to Hogwarts.

Lupin and Tonks helped them off the bus with their luggage and then got off to say good-bye.

“You’ll be safe once you’re in the grounds,” said Tonks, casting a careful eye around at the deserted road. “Have a good term, okay?”

“We’ve got it from here, Tonks,” Naruto whispered reassuringly. “They’re in good hands, alright? Besides, we’ve got men on the road, they’ll watch our backs.”

“Look after yourselves,” said Lupin, shaking hands all around and reaching Harry last.

The fifteen of them struggled up the slippery drive toward the castle dragging their trunks, well the nine shinobi pretended to have as much trouble as the wizards.

When they entered the school, Naruto and Shikamaru went off toward the headmaster’s office, needing to get Shika settled in for the remainder of the year. Naruto cussed out the gargoyle in Japanese and they were allowed entrance to the hidden staircase. Once at the top, he knocked three times and a soft “Enter” was given.

“Hey, sorry to bother you an all,” Naruto beamed at Dumbledore. “But something’s come up and we need to put this man into a house.”

“Oh?” Dumbledore’s brow rose in question. “And why should I do that? I haven’t hired anyone else.”

“This is why,” Naruto handed him the document he and Gaara had signed the previous day.

“He is to be protecting Mr. Malfoy?” the headmaster looked confused. “Why?”

“That’s really our business, headmaster, no offense,” Naruto said politely. “But we need him there, and hey, Malfoy’s paying him. He will be reporting to either Gaara or myself, so there’s no need to worry.”

“So I assume you want to put him in Slytherin house?” Dumbledore asked quietly.

“Well, that would be best,” the blond nodded. “I mean, if you had told us about the different houses, we would’ve demanded to be in the same house as our charges, as it was, we lucked out. You can’t very well keep an eye on someone from clear across a castle.”

“Very well,” Dumbledore nodded. “I’ll call up the Slytherin Head of House and we’ll have you placed immediately. Thank you, Naruto, you are dismissed.”

“Hai!” the blond bowed and left the room.

“Now, my boy,” Dumbledore turned his attention to Shikamaru, “I’ll call Professor Snape in a moment, I just need to ask you a few questions.”

“And that would be?” Shikamaru said calmly.

“First off, what is your name?”

“Nara Shikamaru,” he answered evenly, “ANBU specialist, tactics and strategy. Just to answer your next question.”

“Very well,” the headmaster’s eyes twinkled as he surveyed the shinobi before him. “Quite impressive, I must say. Now, why are you actually on this mission? I know that protecting Mr. Malfoy is not the reason.”

“Sir, if I may be so bold,” Shikamaru gave the old man a piercing look, “you might want to keep your nose out of shinobi business. You have been given all the information you need, any more is classified until my superiors deem it necessary to tell you.”

“As you wish,” Dumbledore bowed his head in acquiesce. “Now, I shall call up Professor Snape, but before he arrives I must ask that you request the Sorting Hat to place you in Slytherin house.”

Dumbledore went over to the fire and did something Shikamaru didn’t really pay attention to and then returned with a beaten old hat in his hands. He placed it on the shinobi’s head and it fell over his eyes.

 _‘This is such a drag,’_ Shikamaru thought, sighing audibly.

 _‘Hmm…’_ said a soft voice in his ear. _‘A sharp mind, resourceful, loyal, you’d be best suited for…’_

 _‘I don’t really care where I’d be best suited,’_ Shikamaru rolled his eyes, _‘I have to be in Slytherin. So if you could please be accommodating, it’d be appreciated. Troublesome hat.’_

 _‘Very well, then,’_ the voice sounded a bit put off, “SLYTHERIN!”

“Well, Headmaster, it seems you knew this boy would be in my house,” a sneering voice said from across the room, causing Shikamaru to whip off the Sorting Hat.

“Merely a fortunate coincidence, Severus, I assure you,” Dumbledore said amiably. “I was just about to call for the other Heads when the hat made its choice.”

“I see,” Snape glared at the newest member of his house. “What is your name, boy?”

“His name is Shikamaru Nara,” Dumbledore smiled, shooting the shinobi a quick glance.

“Whatever,” he shrugged. “Can I be shown to my room please? I’m tired and I want to go to bed.”

“I’m sure you would like some dinner first, my boy,” Dumbledore interjected, giving the newest Slytherin a curious look.

“Whatever,” the lazy ninja moved toward the door.

Professor Snape fell into step with his newest charge, which was difficult for the Potions Master, as Shikamaru seemed to be taking his sweet time getting anywhere.

“Now, Mr. Nara,” Snape began curtly, “you are now part of the noble house of Slytherin…”

Shikamaru drowned him out as they walked to the Great Hall, where the rest of the students were already eating. After showing him to the correct table, Snape made his way toward the staff table. Shikamaru sank down into an open seat next to Malfoy and began filling a plate.

“I see you were put into Slytherin,” the blond said quietly. “That’s good, I’d hate to have to associate with the likes of a Gryffindor.”

“Listen, Malfoy,” Shikamaru gave him a pointed look, his voice for Malfoy’s ears only, “if you can’t keep your mouth shut I’ll force you to. You make my job any more troublesome than it already is by saying something you shouldn’t, there’ll be hell to pay. Now, you’re paying me to protect your ass, try and keep it out of trouble.”

Malfoy gulped and forced himself to eat calmly and talk with his friends around the table. Who knew having a ninja bodyguard would be so bloody terrifying?

888888

The next day was rather trying for the newest Slytherin. Well, not so much for his sake, he managed to fall asleep in all his classes, but the teachers and other students found his lack of interest vexing, at best. Everyone was surprised that even Snape was finding fault with a member of his house.

“Mr. Nara,” he snapped, not five minutes into the first Potions lesson of the term, “do my eyes deceive me or were you sleeping in my class?”

“Nope, I was sleeping,” Shikamaru shrugged, causing Malfoy to elbow him sharply and Naruto to giggle slightly.

“Would you care to tell me why?” Snape asked patiently, a tone he only used with the Slytherins. “Is it, perhaps, that your bed is not comfortable enough? Or was being in a new environment too stressful for proper sleep?”

“Nope,” the brunet yawned. “I slept fine, in fact better than I have for the past two weeks or so, it does help when someone’s not kicking you every five minutes.”

This statement caused Naruto to bow his head sheepishly.

“Then why, pray tell, are you sleeping in my classroom when you should, in fact, be brewing a potion?” Snape almost sneered, but managed to contain himself.

“Cause I saw no point in brewing this particular potion,” Shikamaru sighed, propping his head on his hand. “There is no value for it, so why waste my time making it. It was too much of a drag.”

“In that case, Mr. Nara, you shall bring me one foot of parchment on the uses and benefits of the Pepper-up Potion by next class,” Snape crossed his arms, daring anyone to say his punishment was unfair.

“Whatever,” the lazy ninja shrugged and laid his head back on the desk.

“Sit up this instant, Mr. Nara, or find yourself in detention,” Snape spat, finally losing his calm demeanor. “And five points from Slytherin.”

“Troublesome,” muttered the shadow shinobi, who sat back with his hands clasped behind his neck and resting his stool on the back two legs, in which position he proceeded to fall back asleep.

His other classes weren’t much better and by the end of the day he found himself in three different detentions and had lost Slytherin House a grand total of fifty points.

That night, Shikamaru lounged around the Slytherin common room, keeping tabs on Malfoy as he did his homework for the day. He had to hand it to the blond, he was a very hard worker. About halfway through, Crabbe and Goyle, who he found out were basically Malfoy’s ‘bodyguards’, went off in search of something to eat. Those two reminded him of Fuugin and Raigin, thinking of nothing but food all the time, not even Choji was that bad.

A few moments later, a tall black teen sank down on the couch next to the shinobi, and even though his eyes were closed, he sensed Malfoy tense.

“So you think you’re pretty funny, losing us all those points today?” the teen said angrily.

“What were you thinking?” a girl, he thought he’d heard Malfoy call her Pansy, said.

“Troublesome,” he muttered, opening one eye to peer at the two intruders on his nap. “What’s it to you?”

“What’s it to us?!” Pansy practically shrieked, she reminded him of Ino honestly. “We’re finally in the lead over the Gryffindorks and you’re going to ruin our chances for the House Cup.”

“Like I care,” Shikamaru shrugged, closing his eyes again and feigning sleep.

“You should care,” the boy spat.

“Blaise, Pansy, enough,” Draco said quietly. “We’ll get the points back, it’s not that big a deal. And besides, he’ll learn soon enough that sleeping his way through school isn’t the way to do things.”

“Never bothered me in the past,” the shinobi sighed, realizing they weren’t going to drop it. “This is such a drag. If you are through bothering me about my work ethic, I fucking need a smoke.”

He began patting the pockets of his robes as he stood up, finally locating his pack of cigarettes in his inner breast pocket.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’m heading outside for a bit,” he started toward the entrance to the common room.

“You can’t smoke here!” Pansy said in outrage, yep, definitely like Ino. “Besides, that’s a filthy Muggle habit.”

“Now, ask me if I care,” he gave her a patronizing look, a cigarette dangling from his lips. “It’s not killed me yet, though I have killed someone else with this filthy Muggle habit, as you so graciously put it.”

All three wizarding student’s eyes widened at that declaration. Once he disappeared, Blaise and Pansy hurried over to Draco’s side for a conference.

“Do you think he means that?” Blaise asked quietly.

“I think he does,” the blond shook his head, he knew he couldn’t tell them anything. “He’s not what he appears to be.”

“That’s obvious,” Pansy sighed, cuddling up to Draco, causing him to flinch slightly. “So what should we do about him?”

“I think we should start covering for him,” Blaise answered, looking to Malfoy for approval. “I mean, he is in Slytherin, the Sorting Hat hasn’t made a mistake yet.”

“That would be best, I think,” Draco nodded, at least this way his friends wouldn’t get suspicious of him hanging out with the shinobi. “I mean, how hard can it be to keep the teachers from noticing if he’s asleep in class. And we’ll help him with his homework too. I also want you two to try and befriend him, find out what he likes, get him to open up to us.”

“Alright,” the other two agreed at once.

When Shikamaru returned to the common room about ten minutes later, Pansy and Blaise met him at the door and practically dragged him to their corner of the room.

“Fancy a game of chess?” Blaise asked politely.

“Why?” Shikamaru raised an eyebrow in suspicion. “Why are you being all chummy to me now?”

“Well, you are a Slytherin,” Pansy batted her eyelashes at him flirtatiously, throwing her arms around him. “And we stick together. So we figured, instead of yelling, we’d help you out.”

“First of all, I’m not interested,” he pried her off him. “Secondly, I don’t need your help.”

“Oh, you’ll need our help, alright,” Pansy said, not in the least put off by his rude behavior, she’d never had a man tell her no yet. “The classes around here aren’t a piece of cake, after all.”

“You have no idea how troublesome a piece of cake can be then,” Shikamaru shook his head. “And I’ve already done my assignments, I finished them at dinner. If you’d like to look over them, feel free. But if you copy from them, let me know ahead of time. And I think I will take you up on that game of chess, Naruto was telling me about it over the holidays.”

Pansy gaped for a moment, but then went and collected his bag from the couch beside Draco and began going over his work. Blaise smirked as he began setting up the chessboard.

“Hey, Draco,” he hollered across the room, “can we borrow your chess set?”

“I’ve got one,” Shikamaru shrugged and slouched over to his bag and produced the set that Naruto had gotten for his birthday.

“Alright then, you go first,” the black teen offered.

“Whatever,” the shinobi sighed and commanded his first piece.

“So you know the Gryffindork foreigners?” he asked curiously, trying to find out some information, then commanding his first piece.

“Yeah,” Shikamaru nodded, commanding another piece. “I actually live with Naruto.”

“You his boyfriend?” Blaise’s brow rose in surprise, before making his move. “Cause if you are, you should know he’s been pretty chummy with that Hyuuga kid.”

“No, I’m not his boyfriend, just live with him,” Shikamaru made another move. “Checkmate.”

“What?!” Blaise looked at the board in disbelief. “It’s only been three moves.”

Blaise was the best in Slytherin, apart from Draco. His pride told him he could even best Weasley if he wanted to but this foreigner had bested him in three fucking moves.

“And you’re in checkmate,” the brunet sighed. “Ever played Shogi?”

“Can’t say that I have,” the Slytherin looked up in confusion.

“Its Japanese chess,” Shikamaru smirked. “I’ll get my board.”

“Um, Shika?” Pansy called as he headed up to his room.

“Yes,” he turned to look at her.

“Um, well, this Potions essay Snape assigned you today,” she said hesitantly, “well, you’ve done it wrong, he won’t appreciate you telling him different ways to make the potion. He wanted you to give the uses and benefits of the one we were assigned.”

“And I did,” Shikamaru went over to the table she was working at. “One foot, as he asked,” he pointed to the top foot of the paper. “The rest is just pointing out how to better the potion.”

“Oh,” she said inanely and went back to checking his work.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s late,” he turned back to look at Blaise. “Sorry, we can try that game tomorrow. I’m going to bed.”

“Good night,” the three wizarding students called after him.


	18. What the Hell is Valentine's Day?

Chapter 18: What the Hell is Valentine’s Day?

 

The next day at breakfast, Naruto watched Harry in subtle curiosity, which for the kitsune vessel was anything but. However, the only one who seemed to notice his scrutiny was Hermione, but she was quickly distracted by the delivery of the morning paper.

“Hey, Harry,” Naruto whispered to the raven haired wizard, “you okay?”

“Fine,” Harry muttered, absently rubbing his scar.

“Really?” the blond looked as if he highly doubted this. “Oh, by the way, I saw you taking with Cho yesterday, what was that about?”

“Oh,” the wizard looked taken aback for a moment, “she just wanted to get together on the next Hogsmeade visit, which just so happens to fall on Valentine’s Day.”

“What’s that?” the ANBU asked curiously.

“Well, it’s a day to spend time with the one you love, or care about,” Harry began, but Hermione interrupted him by giving a yelp that caused everyone in the vicinity to stare at her.

Naruto shrugged after a moment and turned his attention back to his breakfast, his mind running wild. What was all this hype about Valentine’s Day? It wasn’t as if you couldn’t spend time with the one you loved on any other day. He’d have to ask Harry more about it later, or possibly Hermione, she might understand.

On the other side of the table, Gaara was reading the paper that Hermione had spread across the table. The news was most distressing to the Kazekage. A prisoner escaping was always a big deal, but these were apparently some of Voldemort’s biggest supporters. Their security measures would have to be doubled. He’d get in touch with Iruka and Kakashi at the earliest possible convenience. Perhaps it was also time to speak with their charges about their mission, after all they now knew they were shinobi.

His chance arose a few weeks later when he, Kankuro, and Temari were watching their charges late at night in the common room.

“Maybe it’s a bit like an illness,” said Hermione, looking concerned when Harry confided in her and Ron about his scar. “A fever or something. It has to get worse before it gets better.”

“Its lessons with Snape that are making it worse,” said Harry flatly. “I’m getting sick of my scar hurting, and I’m getting bored walking down that corridor every night.” He rubbed his forehead angrily. “I just wish the door would open, I’m sick of standing starting at it—”

“That’s not funny,” said Hermione sharply. “Dumbledore doesn’t want you to have dreams about that corridor at all, or he wouldn’t have asked Snape to teach you Occlumancy. You’re just going to have to work a bit harder in your lessons.”

In that moment, Gaara was exceedingly glad he’d placed those seals on their charges. If Harry was still having trouble blocking his mind then the information he housed was dangerous at best.

“I am working!” said Harry, nettled. “You try it sometime, Snape trying to get inside your head, it’s not a bundle of laughs, you know!”

“Maybe…” said Ron slowly.

“Maybe what?” said Hermione rather snappishly.

“Maybe it’s not Harry’s fault he can’t close his mind,” said Ron darkly.

“What do you mean?” said Hermione, and the Kazekage’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“Well, maybe Snape isn’t really trying to help Harry….”

Harry and Hermione stared at him. Ron looked darkly and meaningfully from one to the other.

“Maybe,” he said again in a lower voice, which caused the three Sand shinobi to inch closer, “he’s actually trying to open Harry’s mind a bit wider… make it easier for You-Know—”

“Shut up, Ron,” said Hermione angrily. “How many times have you suspected Snape, and when have you _ever_ been right? Dumbledore trusts him, he works for the Order, that ought to be enough.”

“He used to be a Death Eater,” said Ron stubbornly. “And we’ve never seen proof that he _really_ swapped sides….”

“Dumbledore trusts him,” Hermione repeated. “And if we can’t trust Dumbledore, we can’t trust anyone.”

“Oh yeah,” Harry rolled his eyes. “Cause Dumbledore’s trust has never led us astray before. I mean, come on, Hermione, he trusts fucking ninja for god’s sake. Do you even think he knows who they are? It took you months to figure it out.”

“You might want to keep it down, Potter,” Gaara said, stepping from the shadows with his siblings, who were looking shocked by the revelation. “It would not do for us to be known as shinobi.”

“So you don’t deny it?” Hermione held his gaze, though it was a difficult task for her, his stare was creepy.

“Why should we?” he asked calmly. “We can no more change that fact than you can change the fact that you are a witch.”

“But you were less than accommodating when we asked for your help,” Hermione’s brow furrowed.

“Well duh,” Kankuro shook his head. “Why would we help you figure out a secret we were trying to keep?”

“So,” Harry got over his shock at the sight of the shinobi, “does Dumbledore know you’re ninja?”

“Who do you think hired us?” Temari rolled her eyes. “Who do you honestly think would hire the best shinobi of two villages to protect Harry Potter and his little gang of friends?”

“Temari,” Gaara’s voice was quiet but it held a note of authority that was not missed by anyone present, and the kunoichi bowed her head in acquiesce. “Dumbledore knows who and what we are, down to our ranks. He also was very specific in his request that no one knows he hired ninja to help at his school.”

“So why are you telling us then?” Ron asked curiously.

“You found out for yourself who two of us were,” Gaara held his gaze. “We cannot change that fact. However, you could make it easier on us by complying with our wishes and not doing something stupid.”

“How are you going about protecting Harry from Voldemort controlling his mind?” Hermione asked suspiciously.

“We do not have the means to protect him from that onslaught,” the redhead shook his head sadly. “However, we have protected ourselves from being discovered.”

“How?” Harry asked confused.

“Have you not noticed that whenever you are in a lesson with Snape, he never manages to bring forth a memory that involves information about us?” the Kazekage tilted his head to the side.

“Now that you mention it,” Harry’s brow furrowed.

 

_‘Flashback’_

_‘Snape stopped his assault on Harry’s mind for a moment, a thoughtful expression on his face. They had been doing Occlumancy lessons for two weeks now._

_‘“Potter,” Snape demanded quietly, “is there some reason why select memories are hidden behind a wall within your mind?”_

_‘“What are you talking about,_ sir _?” Harry asked incredulously._

_‘“There is a wall in your mind, Potter,” the Potions Master said as if addressing a small child, “which stops me from viewing some of your memories. I do not believe that even the most skilled Legillimens, like the Dark Lord and the headmaster, would be able to access them.”_

_‘“Weird,” Harry shrugged. “At least I know that part of my mind is safe from the likes of Voldemort.”_

_‘End Flashback’_

 

“Yeah,” the raven haired teen nodded. “Snape mentioned a wall blocking him from getting to some of my memories.”

“Interesting, usually it’s just a fog,” Gaara raised a non-existent brow. “I placed a seal on the five of you, blocking all knowledge you have on us from being accessed from an outside party. I’m glad to see it is working effectively.”

“Why would you do something like that?” Hermione asked incredulously. “And without our permission?”

“You contain within your head valuable information on two of the most prominent members of Suna and Konoha,” Gaara answered calmly. “We cannot risk that information falling into the wrong hands. If Voldemort were to discover that we are here, most specifically Naruto, then he would have the aid he needed from the Akatsuki. We cannot have them coming here, the nine of us are not a match for them.”

“So you blocked them to protect Naruto?” Ron nodded. “Makes sense. But why didn’t you tell us?”

“I just did,” the redhead smirked. “Now, I believe that everyone should get to bed. You’ve talked long enough.”

Once the three wizarding students had gone to their respective dormitories another figure emerged from the shadows.

“Why did you do that, Gaara?” Neji asked in disbelief.

“I have my reasons, Hyuuga,” the Kazekage leveled him with a glare. “Now what do you want?”

“I came to request some time off, for both myself and Naruto,” the long-haired brunet shrugged. “It hasn’t escaped my notice that you seem to be keeping us as far away from each other as possible.”

“And when did you want this time off?” the redhead crossed his arms over his chest, not willing to show his true feelings. Inside he was panicking. If Neji realized what he was doing would Naruto as well? He didn’t want to think about what the blond would do if he realized Gaara was trying to keep him from his boyfriend. It’s not that he didn’t like the Hyuuga, he just didn’t want to lose his first friend.

“February fourteenth,” Neji smirked slightly, knowing exactly what the Kazekage was thinking. “The next Hogsmeade visit. That day is supposed to be important to lovers, so I thought it fitting.”

“Very well,” Gaara sighed. “Though I want you to be on the alert. If I send for you or Naruto, you will come immediately.”

“Of course,” the pale eyed teen nodded. “Good night, Gaara. Kankuro. Temari.”

888888

On the morning of the fourteenth, Harry was standing despondently in front of a mirror. No matter what he did, he didn’t think he looked right for his date with Cho.

“I don’t know what you’re problem is, mate,” Ron said from his bed. “It’s just a trip to Hogsmeade, so what if you’re going with a girl.”

“You wouldn’t understand,” Naruto rolled his eyes at the redheaded wizard. “Come on, Harry, let’s see what you’ve got to wear.”

“Oh no,” Neji groaned as he entered the room and saw clothes flying in all directions. “You want Naruto to help you? Oh my god. Naruto, get yourself dressed. I’ll help Harry. And no orange, Naruto.”

He began going through the pile of clothes that Naruto had scattered, folding them and placing them in piles on Harry’s bed. He finally shook his head as he laid the last item down.

“Kiba! Shino!” he called over to the two shinobi. “Bring me your bags, as well as my own.”

Kiba grinned wickedly as he reached down and grabbed the three bags. He brought them over to the Hyuuga and together they began going through them.

“Wait!” Kiba jumped up suddenly. “I’m sure Gaara won’t mind if we borrow some of his things.”

“Naruto, go ask Gaara,” Neji commanded, eyeing the clothes before him carefully.

Naruto left and returned a moment later with the stoic redhead in tow.

“What do you want now, Hyuuga?” jade eyes rolled in annoyance.

“Kiba was wondering if we could let Harry borrow some of your clothes,” Neji shrugged, setting aside a simple pair of black ANBU pants.

Gaara waved him off and went right back the way he had come, not wanting to get involved in the madness of fashion. Naruto beamed at his retreating back before lugging the Kazekage’s bag over to his boyfriend.

“Ah, perfect,” Neji beamed as he pulled out a gray vest from Gaara’s bag and added it to the black pants. “Now all we need is an undershirt.”

“You need more color than that, otherwise he’ll look washed out,” Naruto shook his head. “Green would be perfect! I’ve got that shirt Kakashi gave me that one time.”

“Bring it over,” the Byakugan user said quietly.

Naruto brought over a dark hunter green, long sleeve shirt and laid it with the vest and pants.

“Excellent,” Neji nodded, handing the pile to Harry. “Go put it on.”

Harry disappeared into the bathroom and reappeared a moment later, the vest still in his hands as he didn’t know how to put it on. Kiba went over and helped him out and then the three shinobi stood back to admire their handiwork.

“Those shoes have got to go,” Naruto pointed at Harry’s trainers. “You can borrow a pair of mine.”

He went over and rummaged in his trunk.

“Now for your hair,” Neji circled Harry, eyeing the unruly mop with a critical eye. “Naruto, bring the gel, you know the one we used on Lee that one time.”

Naruto grinned at his boyfriend before diving back into his bag. A moment later, he returned with a pair of ninja sandals and a bottle of hair gel. Neji took the bottle and motioned for Harry to have a seat. The wizard complied nervously, not sure what was going to happen to him at the hands of the long-haired shinobi.

Neji tipped the bottle and poured a generous amount of the gelatinous liquid into his palm. He then began working it into the raven’s hair.

“The messy look works for you, Harry, as it does Kiba and Gaara,” he said as he worked. “But the way it normally sits is doing nothing for you. Kiba, headband!”

The dog ninja nodded and ran over to his trunk. He pulled out a plain black strip of leather and handed it to the Hyuuga. Neji nodded and tied it firmly over Harry’s forehead, in a similar fashion to the way most of them wore their ninja headbands.

“Whoa!” Ron gaped at the finished product. “I didn’t know you could look like that, mate.”

Neville, Seamus, and Dean, who had just woken up, looked over at Harry in confusion. All three jaws dropped open in shock.

“Wow, Harry,” Seamus’s eyes about popped out of his head. “Got a date or something?”

“Yeah,” Harry fidgeted with the hem of the vest nervously.

“Looks good, mate,” Dean gave him the thumbs up.

“Yeah,” Neville nodded in agreement.

“Good, let’s go,” Neji prodded Harry in the back to get him out the door. Naruto and Kiba followed proudly, neither one wanting to wait to show off their work.

Ron caught up with them in the common room and they made their way down to breakfast together. Everyone turned to look at them as they walked in. Everyone knew that the foreigners were some of the strangest dressed individuals in the school, but they always managed to look good. However, today all eyes were drawn to the shy figure behind them. Harry kept his eyes down as he made his way over to the Gryffindor table.

“Whoa! Harry?” Hermione asked as he sat down next to her.

“Oh, please don’t stare at me, Hermione,” he pleaded, once again fidgeting with his clothes.

“You look amazing, what happened?” she shook her head slightly.

“They happened,” he pointed at the three shinobi, who were all wearing smug expressions on their faces.

“Wherever did you get those clothes?” she asked them curiously.

“The pants are Kiba’s, the shirt and shoes are Naruto’s, and the vest is Gaara’s,” Neji smirked.

“I can’t believe you did a makeover without me,” Sakura pouted across from them. “But I have to say, he looks good. Who did his hair? It was Neji, wasn’t it?”

“Of course it was Neji,” Temari rolled her eyes at her girlfriend. “You think either one of those shag heads,” she pointed to Naruto and Kiba, “could do anything with hair? Honestly, that’d be like asking my brothers to do it.”

“Hey!” both boys yelled in outrage.

At that moment, the post owls arrived and they were all distracted.

“Come on, Naruto,” Neji said after awhile, “we’ve got things to do today. And don’t worry, Gaara said he’d take care of things.”

“Gaara?” the blond turned to the Kazekage, who nodded once to validate the Hyuuga’s claim. “Okay then, let’s go.”

The two of them disappeared out the door. Not a moment later, Ron was nudging Harry in the side, trying to get his attention. He turned to his friend in irritation but noticing Ron’s look, followed it to see Malfoy and Shikamaru headed their way.

“What happened, Potter,” Malfoy sneered, but his eyes were roaming the other wizard appreciatively, “lose a bet?”

“What’s it to you, Malfoy?” Harry crossed his arms over his chest, he didn’t need this right now, he was supposed to meet up with Cho for their date.

“Nothing,” blue eyes met green and neither one could look away.

“So Gaara,” Shikamaru turned to the Kazekage, “where’s Naruto? I was hoping to spend some time with him today.”

“He’s going to the village with Hyuuga,” the redhead said evenly.

“This is such a drag,” the brunet sighed. “Why’d you let him do that? Don’t you realize what kind of trouble they could get into?”

“I had no choice,” the Kazekage gave the other a pointed look, which brooked no argument. “Hyuuga would’ve gotten him away, one way or the other. And I trust Hyuuga to keep him out of trouble, he is level-headed enough for that.”

“True,” Shikamaru sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets. “So, you want some company today?”

“Why?” Gaara asked suspiciously.

“I have a feeling we’ll be seeing each other a lot today,” he gave a subtle nod toward the two wizards. “So why not just plan on spending time together anyway? Besides, it’ll keep me from getting bored.”

“Alright,” the redhead sighed, and then glanced at his charge. “Harry, weren’t you supposed to be meeting someone?”

“Wha—” Harry looked over at him in confusion for a moment. “Oh right, yeah, I should go. See you around, Malfoy.”

The three of them, Harry, Gaara, and Shikamaru, began making their way to the doors. They saw Cho waiting for Harry a little to the side of the oak front doors.

“Hi,” said Cho slightly breathless, “you look nice.”

“Hi,” said Harry.

They stared at each other for a moment, then Harry said, “Well—er—shall we go, then?”

They joined the queue of people being signed out by Filch.

“So why are they with you?” she nodded toward the two shinobi.

“Oh, they’re just heading to the village,” Harry shrugged. “We happened to leave the Great Hall together.”

“Shika!” Pansy ran over to the lazy teen and latched herself onto his arm. “Would you possibly like to spend the day with me in Hogsmeade?”

“Nope,” he loosed himself from her grip and threw his arm around the Kazekage’s shoulders, which caused the redhead to immediately tense. “Already got a date.”

Pansy looked a bit put out but shrugged, thinking him to be joking. She could get him away from that creepy redhead any day, today would be no exception. Besides, they were both too good looking to be gay.

“Play along,” Shikamaru leaned over and whispered in Gaara’s ear. “I would’ve had Naruto pretend to be my boyfriend today, but he’s with his actual boyfriend. I can’t stand that girl, she’s too troublesome. Won’t take no for an answer. She’s worse than your sister.”

Gaara’s hand flew to his mouth to stop his laughter. Harry and Shikamaru gave him curious looks, they’d never seen the Kazekage act like that before.

“So you mean she’s scarier than hell?” Gaara removed his hand, trying valiantly to keep a straight face, but he could feel the corners of his mouth twitching.

“Finally, someone who understands,” Shikamaru shook his head. “Though how you can find anyone scary is beyond me.”

“You’re not afraid of me,” Gaara said matter-of-factly.

“Not anymore,” the lazy ninja shrugged. “I was at one point. But how, I guess Naruto made me realize you weren’t what you appeared at first.”

“Or maybe you’ve been deceived,” sand shot up Shikamaru’s arm, which was still draped around the Kazekage’s shoulders, encasing it.

“You know, that threat only works if I know you mean it,” Shikamaru chuckled, not moving his arm. “And remember, you’re pretending to be my boyfriend, not a mass murderer.”

They had made it to the village by this point and were still following Harry and Cho around, though it appeared that they just happened to be going in the same direction as they were. They ended up in a horribly decorated shop called Madam Puddifoot’s. The two shinobi took up a small table in the back, sitting side by side so they had a clear view of the entire shop.

“What can I get you, m’dears?” a very stout woman with a shiny black bun asked. “It’s not very often I get a male couple in here.”

“We’re not a couple,” Gaara said quickly, shooting a glance at his companion.

“He’s a bit shy,” Shikamaru winked at the woman. “We’ll have some coffee, please.”

She nodded and left them alone, returning a moment later with two steaming mugs of the dark brown liquid. Gaara sniffed it tentatively before taking a sip.

“You’re not going to go insane on me, are you?” Shikamaru gave him a sidelong glance. “I can’t give Naruto caffeine, he gets out of control.”

“I could imagine,” Gaara shrugged, glancing around the room at all the other couples, who seemed to be in various stages of embraces. “I think it was a bad idea to come in here.”

“Why?” Shikamaru raised a questioning brow.

The Kazekage made a subtle nod of his head in the direction of the other couples, his gaze lingering on Harry and Cho, the latter of which seemed to be watching them intently. Shikamaru followed his gaze and realized why the redhead would be feeling uneasy.

“You afraid, Gaara?” he smirked.

“What? No!” the Kazekage shook his head animatedly. “I’m not afraid.”

“Good,” Shikamaru nodded.

Then without warning, his arm dropped to the Kazekage’s shoulders once more and pulled the smaller shinobi closer to him.

“What are you doing?” the redhead asked confused.

“This,” Shikamaru replied as he leaned in and captured Gaara’s lips with his own.

The Kazekage stiffened at the contact, but slowly melted into the strong arms of the shadow ninja. He felt Shikamaru smirk as the kiss deepened, the Leaf ANBU slipping his tongue lazily past Gaara’s pliant lips.

“Cho!” Harry’s cry pulled them apart.

Gaara pulled back, his hand flying to his mouth and rubbing it in a dazed sort of manner. He finally met the brown eyes of his companion and Shikamaru saw a faint tint to his cheeks before he turned away.

“Time to go,” Shikamaru muttered quietly as he pulled Gaara to his feet.

888888

To say Neji’s day wasn’t going as planned was an understatement if there ever was one. He had planned to take Naruto out to lunch in the village and do a bit of leisurely shopping as well, but the blond insisted on dragging him to see Iruka and Kakashi first. That was why, he now found himself seated in the living room of the older shinobi’s house with the silver haired Jounin, while his boyfriend had a little chat with their former sensei.

“So Neji,” Kakashi looked up from his book, “what are your plans with Naruto?”

“I don’t think it matters,” the Hyuuga sighed, leaning back in his seat. He wasn’t pouting, nope definitely not pouting, Hyuugas don’t pout.

“Don’t sulk, Neji,” the Jounin chuckled slightly. “It doesn’t suit you. Now what makes you say that?”

“It seems that no matter what I do, something or someone always interferes,” Neji shook his head, he wasn’t sulking, damn it! “I haven’t had a moment alone with Naruto since we got back together, even before that it was hit and miss at best.”

“Okay,” Kakashi nodded in understanding, there were times he felt that way with Iruka. “So tell me, what seem to be the biggest things that interfere?”

“Well, there’s Gaara,” the long-haired teen sighed, “and now Shikamaru, and of course this damn mission. Everything seems to be getting in the way, even Naruto himself, though he doesn’t realize it.”

“Let me ask you something, Neji,” the copy ninja gave the Byakugan user an apprizing look. “I’m sure with this information, I can ease all concerned parties, well at least Iruka, Gaara, and Shikamaru. What are your intentions? Is this just a quick fuck or are you in this for more?”

“What?” Neji sat up indignantly. “Is that what they think? That I’m only interested in Naruto for sex?”

“Or maybe you’re just using him to get out of a marriage you don’t want?” Kakashi supplied helpfully. “Iruka filled me in on that unfortunate detail.”

“I would never do something like that,” the brunet shook his head. “If that is what they think I will wait until we return home before coming near Naruto again.”

“That won’t be necessary, I assure you,” the Jounin sat back, at least now he could reassure his Chunin that their little kitsune was in good hands. “In fact, that would confuse Naruto even more. Now, I know that neither one of you are virgins, so I don’t have to worry about you stealing his innocence or anything like that. But Iruka wanted me to talk with you.”

“Excuse me?” the pale-eyed teen looked at him in confusion, a faint blush tinting his cheeks. “How do you know that?”

“Well, Naruto came and talked with me and Iruka shortly after he moved in with Shikamaru, telling us that he and Shika had done some things but he didn’t think he wanted it. Iruka was pissed about it actually. I honestly feared for Shikamaru’s life,” Kakashi explained. “And as for you, did you honestly believe my self-proclaimed rival would not tell me that his two youthful students had lost their virginity to one another?”

“I will never live that down, will I?” the Hyuuga buried his now glowing face in his hands. “Lee got me drunk. I don’t even remember it. All I recall is waking up in the same bed as him and nearly having a heart attack.”

“I can understand that,” Kakashi nodded. “I would feel the same way if Gai had done that to me. Oh wait, he did. But if you wanted a better experience, I would recommend Naruto, he’s quite the catch.”

“I’m not going to sleep with him just to erase some bad memories of Rock Lee,” Neji shook his head. He was not having this conversation with Kakashi Hatake, he just wasn’t.

“Good to know,” the silver haired man smiled beneath his mask. “Now my advice to you is to just take things as they come. Don’t worry so much about things being perfect. I know that’s hard for your ego, but considering its Naruto, just be happy you can get him to sit still for five minutes. And as for Gaara and Shikamaru, find them someone else to worry about other than your boyfriend. It worked with Naruto when I was trying to get Iruka.”

“And how did you do that?” Neji latched onto the topic, hoping to get as far away from the topic of sex as possible.

“I arranged for him to have a mission to Suna for a couple weeks,” Kakashi chuckled. “Though I don’t think that will help in your case. But if you can find Gaara another friend, he might not be so protective of one of the only ones he has. Maybe you could find him a boyfriend, or girlfriend, whichever one he’s interested in.”

“Oh yes, because that would work splendidly,” silver eyes rolled in annoyance. “I can see it now, setting Gaara up on a blind date only to have the other party disappear in a Sand Coffin.”

“It’s just something to think about, Neji,” Kakashi shrugged. “Anyway, let’s go see what’s keeping Iruka and Naruto. I’m sure they’re conspiring behind our backs to have us take them out for dinner at the nearest ramen bar, which if memory serves me right, would be in Konoha.”

After a surprisingly pleasant day spent with the two senseis, Naruto and Neji headed back to the castle. As they both prepared for bed, Naruto kept glancing surreptitiously at his boyfriend from the corner of his eye. Neji knew this of course, but he wasn’t going to let on.

“Hey, Neji?” he asked as he climbed into his four-poster bed.

“Yes, Naruto?” the brunet looked at him curiously.

“Um, don’t take this the wrong way or anything,” Naruto bit his lip nervously, “but would you sleep with me?”

“Of course, Naruto,” he nodded, a faint smile pulling at the edges of his mouth.

He slipped beneath the covers and pulled the blond into a light embrace. It was late, and even if things didn’t go how Neji had planned, it had turned out alright in the end.


	19. Smoke and Mirrors

Chapter 19: Smoke and Mirrors

 

The next day, Naruto woke to the sun streaming in his face. He frowned slightly but didn’t open his eyes. That hadn’t happened since they started this mission, he’d always pulled the curtains on his bed, so why was the sun trying to blind him this morning?

 **“Could be your lieutenant forgot to pull the hangings last night, kit,”** Kyuubi suggested with a slight chuckled. **“But then again, you can’t count on him for everything, now can you?”**

‘What are you talking about, Kyu?’ the blond groaned sleepily, his brain still muddled from having just woken up.

 **“Well, one would think, when sharing a bed with someone,”** the fox laughed, **“said person would remember it in the morning. I know for a fact you weren’t drunk last night, so you have no excuse, kit.”**

‘What are you on about, you damn fox?’ Naruto shifted slightly trying to fall back to sleep. ‘I haven’t had anyone share my bed since….’

“Neji!” he sat up with a start.

“What is it?” the brunet sat up as well, instantly on the alert.

Naruto’s cry roused the other occupants of the room as well, Neville even fell out of his bed in shock. The other shinobi looked over at the pair curiously.

“Eh,” he chuckled nervously, scratching his neck sheepishly. “Sorry, guys, I don’t do mornings well.”

Kiba looked from his captain to the lieutenant and back again. Finally a grin broke across his face as he realized what was going on.

“You forgot, didn’t you?” he laughed. “You forgot Neji was in bed with you. What? Was he that bad?”

“You have no room to talk, mutt,” the blond glared at him. “I seem to recall Hinata telling me about screaming the night you first wound up in Shino’s arms, and it wasn’t in pleasure. I do believe she said something along the lines of ‘What the fuck, Shino? You can’t just hold a guy while he sleeps!’”

“Point to Naruto,” Shino smirked from his boyfriend’s side. “You did say that Kiba.”

“Can we please talk about something else?” Ron’s face was a deep crimson. “Some of us don’t really want to hear about you guys getting it on.”

“Pervert,” Kiba chuckled, sharing a sidelong glance with Naruto. “We never said anything about our sex lives, well, I may have mentioned that Neji might be a bad lay but hey.”

“Could you kindly remove your mind from the gutter, Kiba?” Neji said, slipping from Naruto’s bed. “Not all of us are as perverted as you are. And for your information, nothing happened last night aside from sleeping.”

“So you’re telling me,” the shaggy haired brunet shook his head in disbelief, “that you got the day off yesterday, took your boyfriend off, to god only knows where, and didn’t get laid?”

By this point, Naruto was a brilliant shade of pink and was fidgeting with his blankets nervously. Harry took pity on the blond and glared at the canine ninja.

“Look, Kiba, sometimes,” he gave a longsuffering sigh, “people just want to feel secure. It’s not always about sex you know. They just want to know that there is someone out there who will be there for them, even in sleep.”

“See, I’m not the only one,” Naruto stuck his tongue out at the dog ninja. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to shower.”

As soon as the blond disappeared, the shaggy-haired brunet turned his attention back to Harry, who gulped at the look in the shinobi’s eye.

888888

When Harry finally made his way down to breakfast, with the shinobi following with smug looks once again, he wasn’t in the best of moods to say the least. Kiba had decided that, since it was another day without classes, Harry needed another makeover. Not only had the idiots dressed him up like a doll, again, but Kiba even attacked his hair with one of those strange knives they always seemed to have on them. His hair was now a good three inches shorter and stuck up in every direction, it almost looked like Kiba’s. The only saving grace about the whole thing was the strip of leather around his forehead, which, thankfully, covered his scar.

Thankfully, or at least in Harry’s opinion, on one seemed to notice their entrance into the Great Hall this morning. It did help that he looked so much like the shinobi that no one cared to notice that there was one more in their midst. When he reached the Gryffindor table, he sank gratefully down next to his female best friend.

“What?!” Sakura hissed at the male shinobi from across the table, drawing Hermione’s attention away from her book. “You gave him another makeover?”

“I don’t know, Sakura,” Temari eyed Harry critically. “I say he looks pretty good. Not as good as yesterday, but better than before at least.”

“He looks like Kiba!” the medic screeched at her girlfriend.

It was true, Harry looked like a raven haired version of the dog ninja, since the only thing they could find that didn’t look hideous on him was one of Kiba’s outfits.

“And what’s wrong with looking like me?” the shinobi in question asked. “I think it’s nice. We’re practically twins now.”

“The color’s all wrong for him,” Sakura rolled her eyes. “The dark grey makes him look washed out. And let me guess, he can’t take off the jacket because all you gave him to wear under it was a net shirt.”

Kiba bowed his head sheepishly.

“Men, honestly,” the pinkette sighed in frustration. “You were in a dorm full of boys, couldn’t you have gotten him an outfit from Dean or Seamus?”

“They’re taller than he is,” Kiba pointed out. “They wouldn’t have fit right. It’s bad enough that his own clothes are huge, he didn’t need to tie on someone else’s. Mine happened to be one of the better ones we pulled out. Or would you rather have him looking like Neji or Naruto?”

“Oh my god,” Hermione interrupted, shaking her head. “Here.”

She waved her wand and Harry’s jacket turned a dark forest green. Then she gave him the once over, a strange look entering her eyes.”

“The hair is no good,” she clicked her tongue. “I mean, it is an improvement over what he had before, but it’s still not right. May I Harry? I’ve been studying a spell recently and have been dying to try it out.”

“Um… sure?” he said uneasily.

Hermione beamed at him and did a complex series of movements with her wand, muttering something under her breath. A moment later, Harry felt a tingling on his scalp and his hair began growing. When it reached his shoulders, Hermione waved her wand again and the sensation stopped.

“There!” she beamed proudly, producing a mirror for Harry to look in. “Let me just pull it back and we’ll be good.”

Harry watched her work in the mirror. She tied his now long hair at the base of his neck. He had to admit, it didn’t look half bad, at least it was manageable now.

“We’ll have to go shopping sometime, Harry,” the brunette witch said when she sat back down. “We need to find you your own look, you can’t keep wearing their clothes you know.”

Harry gaped at her. Hermione never acted like this, this was something he expected from people like Lavender and Parvati, but not the sensible Hermione Granger.

“Ooh, can I come too?” Ginny asked from Hermione’s other side. “That sounds like so much fun.”

As the two girls buried themselves in plans for Harry’s new look. Harry, himself, shook his head and turned to the other people around him.

“So what are you guys planning for today?” he asked as he finally began eating his breakfast.

“Naruto and I are going somewhere to study, it is far too noisy in the common room, and he is starting to fall behind,” Neji shrugged, sending Gaara a look saying not to argue with him, as the blond pouted.

“I’m gonna take Akamaru outside,” Kiba grinned. “He hasn’t been out to play in ages. Shino, you coming with us?”

The bug ninja nodded once in affirmation before continuing to eat.

“Temari and I are going to the library to do some extra reading for Transfiguration and Defense,” Sakura shrugged absently.

“What about you guys?” Harry turned to Gaara and Kankuro.

“I ain’t got nothing planned,” Kankuro shrugged. “I’ll probably just hang around the common room.”

Gaara just gave an almost imperceptible shrug and remained silent.

Harry noted that all of them played their roles well. If his guess was correct about who was guarding whom, then Kiba and Shino would be keeping an eye on the Weasley twins as they prowled the grounds; Sakura and Temari would be in the same place as Hermione; and Kankuro would be keeping an eye on Ron in the common room as he struggled through his homework; Gaara would, no doubt, be tailing him. The only ones that didn’t make any sense were Neji and Naruto, but he reminded himself that they were dating and that they apparently had the weekend off, if Kiba’s comment that morning was anything to go by.

As he predicted, after breakfast, Kiba and Shino followed the twins out of the castle, while the four girls made their way to the library, Hermione and Ginny still discussing a new wardrobe for him, and Kankuro and Ron headed up to Gryffindor tower together. Naruto and Neji disappeared with their book bags off to some undisclosed location and he just hoped to god he wouldn’t stumble on their ‘study’ session.

Harry got up from his seat and headed out of the Great Hall. For once he didn’t notice all the people staring at him, as his attention was focused on watching the Kazekage out of the corner of his eye. Sure enough, Gaara had gotten up shortly after he did and was following him inconspicuously.

He decided to have a bit of fun with his shinobi guard, so as soon as they were out of sight of others, he began wandering the castle, taking any shortcut or hidden passage he could think of. Finally, after about half an hour, and not a sign of the redhead anywhere, Harry began feeling pretty good about his ability to slip away. That was until Gaara landed in front of him, how Harry wasn’t sure.

“Harry,” the Kazekage said in his patented monotone, “the point of our letting you keep the memories of who we are, is to make our job easier. Stop trying to ditch me.”

“Fine,” Harry rolled his eyes, he had been having fun, a rare thing for him nowadays.

They continued on for a few minutes. As they were passing an unused classroom, a hand shot out and pulled Harry inside. Gaara made to grab him but found that he had no control over his own movements. Before the brunet disappeared, he turned frightened eyes on his supposed guard, who was just standing there, and wondered briefly if the redhead had been lying to him about protecting him.

“You might want to think about getting better protection, Potter?” a drawling voice whispered in his ear as the door snapped closed.

“What do you want, Malfoy?” Harry sighed, turning to his captor. “And you know if you wanted to talk, all you had to do was ask. Ron, Hermione, and I are not opposed to setting up meetings with you anymore.”

“But I didn’t want your two sidekicks along this time,” Malfoy smirked, taking a step forward, which caused Harry to take one back. “Besides, do you honestly think your ‘guards’ would’ve let you out of their sight for a private meeting with me?”

“Probably not,” Harry shrugged, taking another step back. “They don’t seem to like you very much.”

“True,” the blond shrugged noncommittally. “Naruto said I reminded him of a traitor he knew. It also didn’t help when I tried to force him to do something he didn’t want.”

“What could that have been, I wonder?” Harry said thoughtfully, taking another step away from his one time rival. “Possibly dragging him into a deserted classroom and taking advantage of him? Sounds really familiar somehow.”

“Yeah, about that,” Malfoy ran his hand through his hair, pausing in his pursuit of the Gryffindor, “I’m not stupid, not do I particularly want to push the limits of the Kazekage of Suna, so the next move is yours. But damn it all, Harry, don’t expect me to take no for an answer.”

“I can’t give you a definite answer, Draco,” Harry shook his head sadly. “I just had a disastrous date with Cho yesterday…”

“So that’s why you were all dressed up?” a blond brow shot up curiously. “I bet she didn’t even notice. She’s not right for you, Harry.”

“Oh, and you are?” the brunet countered. “Come on, Draco, we both know that we’ve never gotten along in the past. How could anything work between us?”

“I’m willing to give it a try,” Malfoy took another step forward, causing Harry to back up into the wall. “Are you too scared to try, Harry?”

“I’m not scared,” Harry’s eyes hardened at the insinuation.

“Good,” Draco closed the distance between them and claimed the Gryffindor’s lips with his own.

888888

Outside the classroom, Gaara’s eyes closed in frustration. He had walked Harry into a trap, how could he have been so stupid. He was supposed to be the best shinobi in his village, and he was on a mission, how could he have failed?

“Don’t beat yourself up, Gaara,” a voice came from a small alcove beside the door Harry had just been dragged into. “Harry’s fine. Draco just wanted a private word with him. I saw no harm in it.”

“You wouldn’t, Shikamaru,” Gaara frowned, recognizing now what was wrong with him. “You don’t know Malfoy.”

“Contrary to popular belief,” Shikamaru replied quietly, “I haven’t been sleeping in all my classes. I just take the time to keep an eye on my charge instead of the lesson. I’ve seen the way he watches Harry, and I’ve noticed something about him. True, he may be a selfish, stuck-up bastard half the time, but when it comes to something like this, he’d throw it all away to get on Harry’s good side.”

“He forced himself on Naruto,” the redhead stated calmly, hoping to get the shadow wielder on his side.

“Yeah, he told me about that,” the other said. “But he won’t try that again in a hurry. Quite frankly, he knows you’re guarding Harry and he’s terrified of you. Not that I blame him, you are rather intimidating when you want to be. Now, if I let you go will you not do the troublesome thing and rush in there and disrupt them?”

Gaara nodded once. He wouldn’t rush in there but he would do some old fashioned snooping and make sure that Harry was alright.

“Good,” Shikamaru stepped out of the shadows and Gaara felt himself regain control of his body. “Now, let’s see if they’re behaving themselves, or not, whatever works.”

888888

Apart from a dream that Harry had, the next couple of weeks went by in the same fashion. That was until late one evening when there was a loud commotion coming from the entrance hall. Naruto and Gaara had been on duty, waiting at Snape’s door till Harry finished his Occlumancy lessons, when they heard a woman scream. They waited in the shadows until both Snape and Harry made their way up to the entrance hall. The pair slipped in among the students till they found their fellow shinobi, standing a little ways behind their respective charges, whispering furiously.

“What’s going on?” Naruto asked quietly.

Professor Trelawney was standing in the middle of the entrance hall with her wand in one hand and an empty sherry bottle in the other, looking utterly mad. Her hair was sticking up on end, her glasses were lopsided so that one eye was magnified more than the other; her innumerable shawls and scarves were trailing haphazardly from her shoulders, giving the impression that she was falling apart at the seams. Two large trunks lay on the floor beside her, one of them upside down; it looked very much as though it had been thrown down the stairs after her. Professor Trelawney was staring, apparently terrified, at something Naruto could not see but that seemed to be standing at the foot of the stairs.

“Umbridge,” Neji whispered in his captain’s ear. “Apparently, she’s trying to fire Trelawney.”

“No!” the Divination teacher shrieked. “NO! This cannot be happening…. It cannot… I refuse to accept it!”

“You didn’t realize this was coming?” said a high girlish voice, sounding callously amused, and then through a gap in the crowd, Naruto saw Umbridge standing at the bottom of the stairs. “Incapable though you are of predicting even tomorrow’s weather, you must surely have realized that your pitiful performance during my inspections, and lack of any improvement, would make it inevitable you would be sacked?”

Naruto drowned out the rest of the conversation, his eyes flickering to red in his rage. How could that woman be so heartless? How could she humiliate another person like that? This was inexcusable. True, Trelawney probably did deserve to be sacked, but not publicly humiliated.

“Naruto, calm down,” Gaara’s voice in his ear, and a strong grip on his arm, pulled him back to himself. “Watch.”

The oak front doors had swung open. Students beside them scuttled out of the way as Dumbledore appeared in the entrance. The shinobi barely contained their smirks as the old man put that upstart in her place. A few minutes later, all of them smiled as they recognized the centaur that had interrupted their first training session in the Forbidden Forest.

888888

The next Divination class was held in classroom eleven. Classroom eleven was situated in the ground-floor corridor leading off the entrance hall on the opposite side to the Great Hall. When the shinobi entered behind Ron and Harry, they found themselves right in the middle of a forest clearing, similar to the one Firenze had found them sparring in.

“Awesome,” Kiba exclaimed, Akamaru’s head poking out of the front of his robes. “Wonder if he’d let us use this room?”

“Possibly,” Shino shrugged.

The classroom floor had become springily mossy and trees were growing out of it, their leafy branches fanned across the ceiling and windows, so that the room was full of slanting shafts of soft, dappled, green light. The students who had already arrived were sitting on the earthy floor with their backs resting against tree trunks or boulders, arms wrapped around their knees or folded tightly across their chests, looking rather nervous. In the middle of the room, where there were no trees, stood Firenze.

“Harry Potter,” he said, holding out a hand when Harry entered, nodding in the shinobi’s direction.

The shinobi all gathered in front of the centaur, seating themselves close, hoping to have a moment with him without being interrupted.

When the door was closed and the last student had sat down upon a tree stump beside the wastepaper basket, Firenze gestured around the room.

“Professor Dumbledore has kindly arranged this classroom for us,” said Firenze, when everyone had settled down, “in imitation of my natural habitat. I would have preferred to teach you in the Forbidden Forest, which was—until Monday—my home… but this is not possible.”

“Please—er—sir—” said Parvati breathlessly, raising her hand, “why not? We’ve been in there with Hagrid, we’re not frightened!”

“It is not a question of your bravery,” said Firenze, “but of my position. I can no longer return to the forest. My herd has banished me.”

“Herd?” said Lavender in a confused voice. “What—oh!” Comprehension dawned on her face. “There are _more of you_?” she said, stunned.

“Did Hagrid breed you, like the thestrals?” asked Dean eagerly.

Firenze turned his head very slowly to face Dean, who seemed to realize at once that he had said something very offensive.

“I didn’t—I meant—sorry,” he finished in a hushed voice.

“Centaurs are not the servants or playthings of humans,” said Firenze quietly. There was a pause, in which all the shinobi shared a smirk, then Parvati raised her hand again.

“Please, sir… why have the other centaurs banished you?”

“Because I have agreed to work for Professor Dumbledore,” said Firenze. “They see this as a betrayal of our kind.”

“ _Bakas_ ,” Naruto grumbled. “Why would they banish you for something as trivial as that? I mean, it’s not like you were handing yourself over to your worst enemy to become his slave or something. Now something like that, I could understand, hell, I’ve lived through something similar.”

“Naruto,” Gaara and Neji said together, each giving him a piercing look.

“Let us begin,” said Firenze. He swished his long palomino tail, raised his hand toward the leafy canopy overhead and lowered it slowly, and as he did so, the light in the room dimmed, so that they now seemed to be sitting in a forest clearing by twilight, and stars emerged upon the ceiling. There were _oohs_ and gasps, and Ron said audibly, “Blimey!”

“Lie back upon the floor,” said Firenze in his calm voice, “and observe the heavens. Here is written, for those who can see, the fortune of our races.”

Harry stretched out on his back and gazed upward at the ceiling. Kiba and Shino were lying next to each other, with their heads almost touching, like they did this on a regular basis. Gaara didn’t lie down, but tilted his head up, one knee bent, supporting his arm. Naruto settled himself on Neji’s stomach, while the Hyuuga’s fingers idly danced through his blond spikes. Kankuro as leaning back on his elbows next to his brother.

“I know that you have learned the names of the planets and their moons in Astronomy,” said Firenze’s calm voice, “and that you have mapped the stars’ progress through the heavens. Centaurs have unraveled the mysteries of these movements over centuries. Our findings teach us that the future may be glimpsed in the sky above us….”

“Professor Trelawney did Astrology with us!” said Parvati excitedly, raising her hand in front of her so that if stuck up in the air as she lay on her back. “Mars causes accidents and burns and things like that, and when it makes an angle to Saturn, like now”—she drew a right angle in the air above her—“that means that people need to be extra careful when handling hot things—”

“That,” said Firenze calmly, “is human nonsense.”

Parvati’s hand fell limply to her side.

“Trivial burns, tiny human accidents,” said Firenze, as his hooves thudded over the mossy floor. “These are of no more significance than the scurrying of ants to the wide universe, and are unaffected by planetary movements.”

“Professor Trelawney—” began Parvati, in a hurt and indignant voice.

“—is a human,” said Firenze simply. “And is therefore blinkered and fettered by the limitations of your kind.”

“Sibyll Trelawney may have Seen, I do not know,” continued Firenze, “but she wastes her time, in the main, on the self-flattering nonsense humans call fortune-telling. I, however, am here to explain the wisdom of centaurs, which is impersonal and impartial. We watch the skies for the great tides of evil or change that are sometimes marked there. It may take ten years to be sure of what we are seeing.”

Firenze pointed to the red star directly above Harry.

“Natsuhiboshi,” Naruto smiled slightly, his voice quiet but still managing to carry quite well. “Sumaru called it that, said it looked after him.”

The centaur continued on as if he hadn’t heard the shinobi, “In the past decade, the indications have been that Wizard-kind is living through nothing more than a brief calm between two wars. Mars, bringer of battle, shines brightly above us, suggesting that the fight must break out again soon. How soon, centaurs may attempt to divine by the burning of certain herbs and leaves, by the observations of fume and flame….”

They did indeed burn sage and mallowsweet there on the classroom floor, and Firenze told them to look for certain shapes and symbols in the pungent fumes, but he seemed perfectly unconcerned that not one of them could see any of the signs he described, telling them that humans were hardly ever good at this, that it took centaurs years and years to become competent, and finished by telling them that it was foolish to put too much faith in such things anyway, because even centaurs sometimes read them wrongly.

“Um, sir,” Naruto spoke up at the end of his speech, “um, I think I see something, but I could be wrong.”

“What do you think you see?” the centaur asked calmly, kneeling down next to the blond.

“Well,” Naruto pointed at the smoke swirling before him, “I think I see fox tails.”

“How many do you see?” Firenze’s unblinking gaze swiveled to the blond, away from the smoke.

“Eight? No, nine,” Naruto nodded firmly. “Nine tails….” He trailed off and his eyes widened slightly in disbelief, it couldn’t be.

“That sign has not been seen for over sixteen years,” Firenze said quietly. “It is a wonder that you can see it at all. Even the centaurs didn’t know what that meant.”

The blond paled considerably at his words, his breath coming in uneven gasps. It was all a coincidence. It had to be. He didn’t believe in this Divination crap anyway, right? He would probably associate anything to the damn fox.

 **“Breathe, kit, breathe,”** speak of the devil.

“I-I can’t,” Naruto choked out, causing everyone around him to give him curious looks.

 **“Kit, listen to me,”** Kyuubi said gently, or as gently as a demon can. **“Nothing is going to happen, I’m trapped in here remember? And even if there was a way for me to escape, do you think I’d attack your village again?”**

“N-no,” he stuttered, still hyperventilating.

 **“See, nothing to fear,”** the fox soothed. **“I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you, kit. Breaking this seal would kill you, I wouldn’t allow that to happen.”**

With Kyuubi and Neji’s help, Naruto regained control of himself just as the bell rang. When he heard it, he all but fled the room, hoping to avoid any questions that could possibly come his way.

888888

March gave way to April and things seemed to go from bad to worse. No one seemed to bother Naruto about his apparent revelation within the smoke, but it didn’t stop the worried looks he received from his fellow shinobi. Sakura, Temari, and Shikamaru had been filled in about the event, but they all knew better than to question him.

The blond seemed to withdraw into himself and only Gaara seemed to understand why. The pair of them were often seen talking quietly wherever they happened to be. Neji tried to be supportive of his boyfriend, but Naruto didn’t seem to want him near, except at night when he would cry himself to sleep in the Hyuuga’s arms.

It wasn’t until a relatively calm D.A. meeting that any of them got any answers from the ANBU captain. Neji had finally had enough of the blond’s silence and decided he was going to get some answers.

“Naruto,” Neji went over and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend while everyone else was paying attention to what Harry was saying about Patronuses. “What’s wrong? Please talk to me.”

“I’m scared, Neji,” the blond whimpered slightly. “I mean, I know that what I saw could mean anything, but I can’t help but think something bad’s going to happen.”

“Naruto,” the brunet’s hold tightened slightly, “we all know about the fox, it’s nothing we haven’t heard before. You’re worrying about something you shouldn’t. You know the Fourth’s seal will hold, Jiraiya assured you it was safe.”

“I know, but think about it, Nej,” Naruto shook his head sadly, “sixteen years ago the centaurs saw it. That’s when Kyu attacked. What if the seal breaks and he comes back? I can’t control him if he’s not locked up.”

“If that happens,” Neji placed a kiss on his temple, “we will all work together and stop the demon. Try not to worry about it.”

“Hey,” Harry made his way over to the gathered shinobi. “I know you guys don’t really want to do some of this stuff, but couldn’t you at least try? Come on, Naruto, please?”

“Alright,” blue eyes rolled in mock annoyance, a smile pulling at the edges of his mouth. Neji’s words had made him feel better.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his ‘wand’. Harry gave him an encouraging smile, reminding him to think of something happy. He closed his eyes, focusing his chakra into his hand and through the stick, imagining it forming an animal shape.

 **“Kit!”** Kyuubi growled in warning.

 _“Expecto Patronum!”_ he called clearly.

A red light shot out of the ‘wand’ and everyone within the vicinity took a step back. Naruto screamed in pain, his free arm curling around his stomach, but the light kept coming. Neji tried to take a step forward, but Gaara held him back, his eyes focused on the swirling chakra before the blond.

“Do you see it, Neji?” the Kazekage asked quietly. “Look into the chakra.”

The Hyuuga turned and focused his attention on the red chakra, where a shape was taking form. A large animal appeared before it started to shrink. At the same moment, an animalistic cry filled the room, blending and contrasting with Naruto’s pained screams. The wizarding students all covered their ears at the sound, while the shinobi watched in fearful amazement at what was happening. And then, as suddenly as it had started, it ended and silence filled the room, only broken by the labored breathing of the two individuals in the center of the circle.

A red haired man now stood before Naruto, panting with his head bowed as if recovering from some major ordeal, his hair obscuring his face like a curtain of blood. Suddenly, his head shot up and piercing yellow eyes locked on the first person they could, which just happened to be Harry. A growl escaped the man’s throat before he turned from the wizard and fell to his knees beside the blond shinobi.

“Kit,” his deep voice echoed throughout the room. “Kit, come on, you have to wake up. I can still feel you, you’re not dead. Wake up, Kit!”

Before anyone could say anything in response, the door of the Room of Requirement opened and then closed again; Harry looked around to see who had entered, but there did not seem to be anybody there. It was a few moments before he realized that the people close to the door had shifted slightly. Next thing he knew, something was tugging at his robes somewhere near his knee. He looked down and saw, to his very great astonishment, Dobby the house-elf peered up at him from beneath his usual eight hats.

With the tension somewhat broken, the shinobi gathered around their fallen comrade and the new man.

“Kyuubi?” Gaara questioned the man quietly.

“Gaara,” the man sneered. “He needs help, we need to get him out of here. You owe him your life, Sabaku no Gaara, now let me through, he could die.”

Kyuubi gathered the blond in his arms and hurried to the door, knocking the stunned students out of his way in the process. He ran down the corridor until he was stopped in his tracks by several raised wands.

“Get out of my way,” he snapped at the woman standing in his way, this was the one who had tried to hurt his kit at the beginning of the year, but he’d deal with her later.

“Who are you?” Umbridge asked sharply, and then her eyes fell on Naruto’s limp figure in the man’s arms. “And what have you done to Mr. Uzumaki?”

“Nothing,” he growled, “but if you don’t get out of my way, I’ll blame you for his death.”

Naruto whimpered at the demon’s tone and tried to move within the man’s hold. Umbridge’s eyes narrowed dangerously but she didn’t let them pass.

“He’ll be fine,” she waved dismissively. “You will both come with me.”

A moment later, Malfoy brought Harry over to where they were and she ushered them toward the Headmaster’s office, after sending off her posse. They were at the stone gargoyle within minutes.

“Fizzing Whizbee,” sang Umbridge, and the stone gargoyle jumped aside, the wall behind split open, and they ascended the moving stone staircase. They reached the polished door with the griffin knocker, but Umbridge did not bother to knock, she strode straight inside, still holding tight to Harry with her wand pointed menacingly at Kyuubi’s back.

The office was full of people. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk, his expression serene, the tips of his long fingers together. Professor McGonagall stood rigidly beside him, her face extremely tense. Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, was rocking backward and forward on his toes beside the fire, apparently immensely pleased with the situation. Kingsley Shacklebolt and a tough-looking wizard Harry did not recognize with very short, wiry hair were positioned on either side of the door like guards, and the freckled, bespectacled form of Percy Weasley hovered excitedly beside the wall, a quill and a heavy scroll of parchment in his hands, apparently poised to take notes.

“Dumbledore,” Kyuubi growled as soon as he was pushed forward, “Naruto needs help, and this woman is denying him that. If Tsunade hears about this, she won’t be happy.”

“No, I don’t suppose she would be,” Dumbledore nodded slightly. “Professor Umbridge, was there a particular reason why you denied medical aid to young Mr. Uzumaki?”

“I don’t know that man,” she smiled sweetly. “I couldn’t have him running around the school on his own.”

Fudge looked uncomfortable for a moment before addressing the demon, “And who are you, sir? Do you have permission to be on Hogwarts’ premises?”

“I have every right to visit my child,” Kyuubi smirked slightly. “And if you continue to deny him what he needs, I shall see this institution raised to the ground, as well as the whole of wizarding Britain.”

“Is that a threat?” Umbridge snapped shrilly, raising her wand.

“No you worthless toad, it’s a promise,” the demon leveled her with a cold glare. “You may have a tentative peace with our nation, but allow my kit to die while in your country and all hell will break loose.”

“Mr. Uzumaki that won’t be necessary,” Fudge said quickly, rightly fearing the man before him. “Please, take your son to the infirmary. There has obviously been a misunderstanding in bringing you up here.”

“Obviously,” with a final glare, the redhead turned on his heel and left the office.


	20. Who Did What to Who's Cow?

Chapter 20: Who Did What to Who’s Cow?

 

Kyuubi wasted no time in sprinting toward Gryffindor tower. He knew something was going on in Dumbledore’s office, otherwise the old coot would’ve given him a, what was it? a Portie, or whatever it was, straight to Konoha to see Lady Tsunade. Now he was left with only one option, and that was that pink haired bitch that used to be on his kit’s team.

The demon fox had never liked that girl, she couldn’t appreciate a good thing if it bit her on her oversized forehead. That was the reason he kept throwing out lecherous thoughts to his kit about the Hyuuga. He, himself, had no interest in the long-haired Byakugan user, but he knew his kit did, even if the brat didn’t realize it himself. He would’ve even insisted that his kit go after the Uchiha brat, but with his betrayal, he wouldn’t do that.

His thoughts were cut off as he reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, guardian of Gryffindor tower. And damn it all, he didn’t remember the new password. His kit had made sure he knew all of them, considering neither of them knew when Kyuubi would be needed.

“Open up, you old hag,” he demanded, kicking the edge of her frame.

“I can’t let you in without a password,” the Fat Lady said sternly.

“I don’t have fucking time for this,” Kyuubi snarled. “You see this kit, he’s about a hair’s breath away from death and the only person who can help him is in this fucking dorm, now let me in!”

“What’s going on here?” a cold voice said from behind them.

“This fucking portrait won’t let me the fuck in,” the demon snapped, not taking his eyes off the painting.

“To get into any of the dormitories, you have to have a password,” the voice said with a hint of a smirk in it. “I have not seen you before, so I’m assuming you don’t have the correct permission to be on the premises.”

“I don’t give a flying fuck,” the redhead turned to glare at the man standing behind him. “You see this kit,” he indicated Naruto, “he’s going to die if I don’t get into this fucking dorm, and if my kit dies, you die.”

Onyx eyes narrowed as they took in the blond. Without another word, the man stepped up to the portrait and whispered the password so the demon couldn’t hear. The Fat Lady swung open and the man motioned for Kyuubi to step inside.

“Haruno!” he bellowed as soon as he entered the common room, setting Naruto down on the floor, the man stepping in behind him unnoticed. “Get over here you fucking bitch!”

“Enough, Kyuubi!” Gaara said, stepping forward to block the demon. “Sakura, tend to Naruto. Kyuubi, if you can’t hold your temper in check I’ll send you back to where you came from.”

“You couldn’t,” the fox scoffed. “You weren’t even strong enough to defeat me with Shukaku, how do you think you’d manage without him?”

“Kyuubi, please calm down, for Naruto’s sake,” Neji’s calm voice broke through the demon’s temper. “If you don’t we could lose him. You are still connected and if you waste all your chakra, he will die, for that is all that is supporting him at the moment.”

“W-what’s wrong with him?” Neville asked worriedly. “Should someone go get Madam Pomfrey?”

“Kiba! Shino!” Neji snapped, sending a glare at his two fellow Leaf ANBU. “Get everyone out of here! Kankuro! Temari! Help them! We need space to work here.”

“All of you to your dormitories now!” the professor snapped and all the Gryffindors in the common room scattered at the harsh words. Once they were gone he turned his attention back to the shinobi, all of whom remained behind, “That goes for you as well. Hyuuga, if Uzumaki is indeed dying, as you and this man say, he needs to be in the hospital wing. Mere children cannot hope to tend to him.”

“Professor Snape,” Neji took a deep calming breath, “if you cannot tell, Kyuubi is upset, I am upset, hell even Gaara is upset and he has the emotional range of a grain of sand. If you have one ounce of intelligence in that head of yours you will keep your mouth shut and let Sakura do her job.”

The pink-haired kunoichi was now kneeling next to Naruto, a faint green sheen visible around her hand as she passed it over the immobile teen. Snape wisely kept his mouth shut, but he remained watching. Never before had he seen anything like this. In all his years, no student had ever stood up to him like this. And what was that girl doing? It was something he’d never even dreamed possible.

After about five minutes, which passed in tense silence, Sakura sat back with a sigh. She glanced up at the people surrounding her, her eyes locking momentarily on Kyuubi, who as pacing irritably in front of the fire.

“I’ve done all I can,” she said quietly. “The rest is up to Naruto and Kyuubi. He has no physical injuries. His chakra is low, it probably had to do with Kyuubi’s sudden appearance. However, the seal is still strong and holding.”

“Then why is Kyuubi still out here?” Gaara asked quietly, closing his eyes in relief that his friend was alright.

“It had to do with the intent,” the demon answered, sinking down onto the nearest chair. “When he tried to perform that spell, he called me out. I tried to warn him but it was too late.”

“What spell?” Snape asked, glaring at the redheaded man sitting calmly as if he belonged there.

“ _Expecto Patronum_ ,” Kyuubi sighed, he’d have to explain sooner or later, but not to this man. “Someone send for Kakashi, this damn mortal needs his memory fixed.”

Before anyone could move, or even protest, in Snape’s case, the portrait hole banged open and Shikamaru ran into the room, followed closely by Harry Potter and McGonagall.

“Where is he?” the shadow ninja demanded, pushing past his Head of House. “Where’s Naruto?”

“He’s here, Shikamaru,” Sakura answered calmly. “But you have to calm down, he’ll be fine, he just needs to rest.”

“This is such a drag,” Shikamaru sighed, his eyes never leaving the blond. “What happened?”

“I would like to know that as well,” McGonagall said briskly, eyeing the new redhead beadily. “Mr. Uzumaki, care to explain how your son got in this state?”

Shikamaru whirled around to face the Animagus professor. His eyes narrowed dangerously.

“Naruto’s parents are dead!” he spat angrily. “They have been since the day he was born. How dare you insinuate that someone else be his father. It’s an insult to the Fourth’s memory.”

“There seems to be a misunderstanding, again,” Kyuubi shook his head. “I never claimed Naruto was my son, I just let your Minister and that fat toad assume that. He is my kit, and as such I will look out for him and his well being, considering my own is tied to his.”

“If you are, in fact, not this boy’s father,” Snape sneered, “then you need to leave these premises at once.”

“Can’t and won’t,” the demon smirked evilly. “I’m tied to my kit.”

“Kyuubi?” Shikamaru’s gaze swiveled to the fox for the first time. “Someone tell me how the fuck he got out. Master Jiraiya assured us that the seal would hold him.”

“We can’t talk about this now,” Kyuubi growled.

“Wait,” Gaara held up his hand to stop any further protests or demands. “Dumbledore is gone, isn’t he?”

“How did you know that?” McGonagall asked in shock. “He only just left.”

“If he were still in the castle, he would have come for this interrogation,” Gaara said matter-of-factly. “Now, with him gone, I’m making a decision. I know Naruto has told other Order members, without my consent, but he had a point. And with Dumbledore now gone, we can’t afford to have more people suspicious of us. Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, the information I am about to give you is classified.”

“How dare you, you insolent whelp,” Snape reached for his wand, but found himself at knifepoint before he even touched it.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Shikamaru’s voice was low, a tone no one in the room had heard from him before, save Kyuubi, though through Naruto’s ears.

“We are shinobi,” Gaara continued as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “My siblings and I hail from the Village Hidden in the Sand, the others from the Village Hidden in the Leaves.”

“Impossible,” Snape scoffed, but quickly regretted the action as the knife pressed harder against his throat.

“I agree, Severus,” McGonagall nodded. “The Hidden Ninja Villages are a myth.”

“As the name suggests, we have been hidden for many generations,” the Kazekage said evenly. “But Dumbledore has hired most of us to protect certain students. Shikamaru was hired by Draco Malfoy for the same purpose.”

“That doesn’t explain his purpose here,” McGonagall said, pointing to Kyuubi.

“We will get to the interrogation of the fox in a moment,” Gaara shrugged. “Beforehand, we need a diversion for anyone else who may have spotted Naruto in this condition. Shino, send a clone to the hospital wing, disguised as Naruto. Explain to the nurse what is going on, with as little detail as possible, and keep watch over it through the night.”

The bug shinobi nodded before heading out the portrait hole. The others watched him go before turning their attention back to the two redheads.

“Kyuubi, explain,” Gaara commanded in a no-nonsense tone.

“As I said before,” the demon glared at the former jinchuuriki, “it was his intent behind the summoning. The kit has only ever called upon my chakra before, this time he wanted something substantial to make the spell seem real. He did not realize that’s what he was doing, but that’s what happened. I felt the pull on my physical body as he gathered the chakra, I tried to warn him, but I wasn’t fast enough.”

“Wait a minute,” Harry interrupted, having just caught on, “you’re telling me, that you’re the demon Kyuubi no Kitsune? But I thought you were a nine-tailed fox.”

“Way to state the obvious,” Kyuubi rolled his eyes. “I am Kyuubi no Kitsune, the nine-tailed demon fox. But I am trapped like this because Naruto changed his purpose at the last minute, hoping to spare everyone from a demon’s wrath.”

“Can you go back, Kyuubi?” Neji asked, biting his lip nervously. If Kyuubi was trapped in a physical body of his own, what was to stop him from doing whatever he wanted?

“I could,” the demon shrugged. “But I rather like being out of that fucking cage. Not to mention the fact that if I tried now, I’d end up killing both myself and Naruto. Don’t worry, Hyuuga, with that seal still in place, Naruto is still in control. He has power to take all my chakra, and force me back into the damn cage.”

“Cage?” McGonagall sent a confused look to Snape, who had a calculating look on his face. “What cage? We’ve never seen a cage before. And let me assure you, if Uzumaki had a cage big enough to hold a full grown man, as Head of Gryffindor, I would’ve noticed.”

Kyuubi rolled his eyes but pushed to his feet and marched over to Naruto. The blond groaned slightly as the fox demon knelt down next to him, but quieted immediately when Kyuubi reached out and placed a hand on his forehead.

“Shh, it’s all right, kit,” he said quietly as his other hand reached down and began lifting his vessel’s shirt, revealing his taught stomach. He placed his hand over where the seal was and sent out a small burst of chakra, causing it to become visible. “This is my cage.”

“But… but…” McGonagall’s face paled drastically. “Who would do that to a child?”

“The Fourth Hokage.”

“The Third Kazekage.”

Shikamaru and Gaara said at the same time, causing all eyes to swivel to the two teens.

“What do you mean?” Snape’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “There are more of these… these vessels?”

“Jinchuuriki,” Harry supplied. “It means ‘human sacrifice’. And yes, sir, they are containers to hold the tailed demons, called bijuu.”

“As of this moment, we only know of one that remains,” Gaara said quietly. “There were, at one point, eight other tailed demons in our world. One jinchuuriki died long ago, and with him his demon; two were extracted from their vessels,” here he gave a small shudder, “and placed into a new prison; one had never had a vessel and was also captured; we assume they have caught the other four as well, since they are focusing all their efforts on obtaining the Kyuubi jinchuuriki.”

“How do you know all this?” McGonagall asked incredulously.

“Aside from the fact that I am the Fourth Kazekage of Suna,” the redhead teen gave her a blank stare, “it would have been common knowledge to me, as the only living former jinchuuriki.”

“Former?” Snape asked coldly.

“Yes, yes, poor Gaara,” Kyuubi growled, still holding on to Naruto, “he had his fucking demon removed and lived to tell about it. With no small amount of help from my kit here, I might add. Now, if you’d all fucking leave, Naruto needs rest and he’s not going to fucking get it on the floor. Neji carry him up to bed.”

“I can’t, Kyuubi,” the brunet sighed. “He needs you right now. He always needs you when he’s like this. I have no place to interfere. Besides, if I tried to take him away from you now, he’d get worse. The seal may be holding but the bond is weaker than when you are inside him. Your touch is soothing to him right now. You need to stay with him tonight at least, I will stay out of your way.”

“To hell with that,” Kyuubi shook his head. “I didn’t spend the last few years feeding him thoughts about you, to have you turn away from him when he fucking needs you. He may need my chakra but he needs you more. Get that through that fucking Hyuuga skull of yours.”

“You can’t do that,” Gaara stated blandly. “You cannot force your will upon Naruto. It isn’t possible.”

“I didn’t say I wanted the Hyuuga brat,” the demon gave the Kazekage an incredulous look. “Unlike Shukaku, I want my vessel to be happy, not just myself. I couldn’t make him feel something he didn’t want, but I could make him realize something he wasn’t even aware of wanting. Now come on, Neji.”

The pale-eyed teen nodded as Kyuubi lifted Naruto back into his arms. He then followed the demon and his vessel up to their dormitory.

“This is such a drag,” Shikamaru plopped down next to Gaara when they heard the door close behind the trio. “I didn’t want to have to deal with that damn fox. It’s bad enough when he takes over Naruto.”

“It is a most unfortunate turn of events,” Gaara sighed, leaning back against the couch.

“But it might not be that bad,” Sakura put in. “I mean, with Kyuubi out, the Akatsuki won’t know what hit them.”

“Or it could bring them down on our heads,” Kiba rolled his eyes. “I mean, at least thirty kids saw Kyuubi appear, then there’s everyone from this tower that heard most of Neji’s speech before Snape sent them upstairs.”

“I will be shown respect,” Snape snarled, reminding the ninja that the two professors were in the room as well.

“Now, we will send for Kakashi,” Gaara sighed. “Kiba, go and get him, explain to him what happened and what needs done. You remember everyone who was there?”

“Yep, got it,” Kiba saluted and then disappeared out the window.

“Okay, that takes care of the kids, but what about that toad and the Minister?” Shikamaru asked, turning his head to look at Gaara.

“They believe that Kyuubi is Naruto’s father, we’ll stick to that story,” the Kazekage sighed again. “He came in from Japan to keep an eye on his son, having heard of abuse from one of the teachers. Is that understood, Minerva, Severus?”

The two professors nodded and left the tower to spread the word to the other members of the staff.

“But how would he have gotten the message?” Harry asked curiously. “I mean, Naruto’s not the type to just send a letter home cause something is wrong.”

“Iruka,” Shikamaru smirked. “I’ll get him to write one up and I’ll bring it to Kyuubi to show Umbridge, it’ll make her sweat if nothing else.”


	21. Thank God You're Awake

Chapter 21: Thank God You’re Awake

 

The next day, notices had gone up all over the school, announcing Umbridge as the new Headmistress. The school was in an uproar over Dumbledore’s disappearance and wild rumors were flying around as to how he’d done it.

“Dumbledore will be back before long,” said Ernie Macmillian confidently on the way back from Herbology after listening intently to Harry’s story. “They couldn’t keep him away in our second year and they won’t be able to this time. The Fat Friar told me…” He dropped his voice conspiratorially, so that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had to lean closer to him to hear, “…that Umbridge tried to get back into his office last night after they’d searched the castle and grounds for him. Couldn’t get past the gargoyle. The Head’s office has sealed itself against her.” Ernie smirked. “Apparently she had a right little tantrum….”

“Oh, I expect she really fancied herself sitting up there in the Head’s office,” said Hermione viciously, as they walked up the stone steps into the entrance hall. “Lording it over all the other teachers, the stupid puffed-up, power-crazed old—”

“Now, do you _really_ want to finish that sentence, Granger?”

Draco Malfoy had slid out from behind the door, closely followed by Crabbe and Goyle, and a yawning Shikamaru. His pale, pointed face alight with malice.

“Afraid I’m going to have to dock a few points from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff,” he drawled, as Gaara, Temari, Sakura, Kankuro, and Neji appeared behind Harry and the others.

“It’s only teachers that can dock points from Houses, Malfoy,” said Ernie at once.

“Yeah, we’re prefects too, remember?” snarled Ron.

“I know _prefects_ can’t dock points, Weasel King,” sneered Malfoy, shooting an almost unnoticed apologetic look in Harry’s direction; Crabbe and Goyle sniggered. “But members of the Inquisitorial Squad—”

“The _what_?” said Hermione sharply.

“The Inquisitorial Squad, Granger,” said Malfoy, pointing toward a tiny silver I upon his robes just beneath his prefect’s badge. “A select group of students who are supportive of the Ministry of Magic, handpicked by Professor Umbridge. Anyway, members of the Inquisitorial Squad _do_ have the power to dock points…. So, Granger, I’ll have five from you for being rude about our new headmistress…. Macmillian five for contradicting me…. Five because I don’t like you, Potter… Weasley, your shirt’s untucked, so I’ll have another five for that…. Oh yeah, I forgot, you’re a Mudblood, Granger, so ten for that….”

“Let’s not leave the others out, Draco,” Shikamaru gave the blond a lazy smirk. “I’m sure they’d have said something if you hadn’t interrupted.”

“Oh, look, Neji,” Gaara said in a monotone, as if on cue, “the toad has spawned and produced rather ugly tadpoles. Should we have Naruto call Gamabunta to deal with them? I’m sure he’d have no problem rounding them up.”

“Maybe I should go ask him,” the long-haired shinobi shrugged. “I have to go and check on him anyway.”

“See,” Shikamaru rolled his eyes. “So that will be ten points for Sabaku’s insults on both the headmistress and ourselves and five for Hyuuga going along with it.”

“Don’t forget to take fifty points from Slytherin, Nara,” Gaara gave the other shinobi a level stare.

“Why would he do that?” Goyle asked stupidly.

“Because I said so,” the redhead smirked slightly and strode away, with the other shinobi following him.

“And that’ll be fifty points from Slytherin for asking stupid questions, Goyle,” the shadow ninja said, shoving his hands into his pockets before following the other shinobi.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione just barely managed to school their features so as not to burst out laughing at the three stunned Slytherins. After shooting another look at Harry, Draco turned on his heel and walked away, with Crabbe and Goyle in his wake.

“That was too funny,” Harry gasped, trying to regain his breath.

“He was bluffing,” said Ernie, looking appalled. “He can’t be allowed to dock points… that would be ridiculous…. It would completely undermine the prefect system….”

“I just don’t understand why he took them from us,” Hermione whispered to Harry, a look of confusion on her face. “I mean, I thought we were past all this.”

“Oh, come on, Hermione,” Harry gave her a pointed look. “It’s Malfoy, he’s a _git_.”

The witch gave a silent ‘oh’ of comprehension and then nodded.

888888

After they left the wizarding students the shinobi split up. Gaara and Shikamaru doubled back to keep an eye on their charges, while Kankuro, Temari, and Sakura headed into the Great Hall for lunch. Neji went, as he said he would, to check on Naruto, who hadn’t woken up yet.

The long haired brunet sat down next to the blond’s bed, staring at the two figures lying there. Naruto had not moved since Kyuubi had laid him down the night before, Kyuubi, however, had his arms wrapped protectively around the blond. Neji sighed quietly, feeling a slight pang of jealousy against the nine-tailed fox. It wasn’t fair that the damned fox got to be with Naruto while he suffered through the routine that had been established for this mission.

With a final shake of his head, he got up from his seat and made his way back downstairs.

888888

As soon as Harry followed Umbridge out of her office, solely intent on finding the source of the disturbance that rescued him from her inquisition, he was grabbed roughly by the arm and dragged into an unused classroom. Once the door was closed he turned to his captor, a wry smile forming on his face.

“We need to stop meeting like this,” he said with a slight chuckle.

“Listen, Harry,” Draco sighed, running his hand through his hair in frustration, “about earlier, I’m sorry.”

“I know you didn’t mean it,” Harry shook his head, leaning back against the wall. “I understand, I really do. You have to keep up appearances. In fact, I would’ve been suspicious if you hadn’t done what you did.”

“It doesn’t make me feel any better about it,” the Slytherin bit his lip.

“Listen, Dray,” the brunet sighed, pushing off the wall and putting his hand on the blond’s shoulder, “I know how you feel, I do. But if it makes you feel better, you can always drag me into an empty room after every occurrence and tell me how bad you feel about it, okay?”

“There’ll be a lot of dragging you around then,” Draco smiled slightly.

“Just don’t make it too obvious,” Harry shrugged nonchalantly, his voice taking on an aggrieved tone. “Other than that, I think I’ll manage to suffer through it.”

Draco chuckled slightly at Harry’s tone.

“That’s better,” Harry beamed at him. “You really should laugh more. That way it doesn’t appear that you have a broomstick shoved so far up your…”

He was cut off abruptly as Draco’s lips crashed down on his own in a searing kiss.

“Shut up, Potter,” the blond said as they broke apart.

“Make me, Malfoy,” Harry shot back, a little breathlessly.

“I believe I just did,” Draco pointed out needlessly.

“Oh shut up,” Harry swatted playfully at him. “Anyway, you have to admit that what Gaara did earlier was funny as hell, so it completely covered up anything that might have come between us.”

“I think it was funnier that Shikamaru actually went along with it,” the Slytherin chuckled. “It was worth it to see the even more confused looks on Crabbe’s and Goyle’s faces.”

“Oh, don’t start that, the look on your face was priceless,” Harry shook his head, laughing slightly. “Besides, I think Shika had several reasons for doing that.”

“Oh?” a blond brow rose curiously. “And what might those be, oh esteemed Gryffindor guru?”

Harry fought to control his laughter at the new nickname, “Well, first of all Gaara’s his superior; second, if it came down to a fight between them, I don’t think Shika could, or would, win; and lastly, Shika likes him.”

“What makes you say that?” Draco asked in confusion.

“Oh right, you weren’t there in Madam Puddifoot’s,” Harry chuckled. “Well, on Valentine’s Day, Shika took Gaara to Hogsmeade. He said it was just an act to keep the girls away, but if that was all it was I don’t think he would’ve kissed him like he did.”

“He kissed him?!” Malfoy asked in disbelief.

“Yep,” Harry nodded. “And if you know anything at all about Gaara, then you know it’s almost life threatening to get too close, so Shika had to have some feelings for him to risk his wrath like that.”

“That or he’s just insane,” the blond shrugged. “Anyway, you should go. See you around, Potter.”

“You wish, Malfoy,” Harry scoffed as he opened the door and headed back toward the Great Hall.

888888

That night, as everyone was preparing for bed, Kyuubi sat up and stretched, yawning widely and showing off his fang-like eye-teeth. His yellow cat-like eyes then surveyed the room, taking in all the boys, his eyes lingering on each for a moment. When Neville realized the stranger was watching him change, he gave an ‘eep’ of surprise and quickly leapt onto his bed, drawing the curtains around him. The fox demon chuckled slightly before continuing his scrutiny.

“Hyuuga,” he said after a moment, “take over. I’m going for a walk.”

“You can’t, Kyuubi,” Neji glared at the fox. “One, you cannot leave Naruto until he is better, and two, we don’t trust you to walk around on your own.”

“Listen, brat,” Kyuubi growled softly, “the kit is fine, all my chakra has returned, he just needs to wake up now. And I give you my word…”

“Why would that make things right?” a dark brow rose in curiosity. “Your word means nothing to me.”

“Fine,” yellow eyes rolled in annoyance, and he placed a hand on Naruto’s forehead. “I swear on the life of my kit that I won’t… kill anyone, maiming and attacking are exempt though,” he muttered the last part under his breath.

“Not good enough, Kyu,” the Hyuuga held his gaze, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Alright!” the demon growled. “I won’t do anything to anyone, but I’m about to go stir crazy in here, and you really don’t want to see me like that. Think about Gaara on a bad day with Shu, and multiply it by nine.”

“Very well,” Neji sighed in defeat. “But if I hear of anything suspicious in the morning, I will shut you down.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’ll 64 palms my ass, I got it,” was the sarcastic reply. “See ya in the morning, Hyuuga. Night boys.”

And with a final wave over his shoulder, the fox demon left the dormitory. The other boys turned their attention to the long haired teen, curiosity radiating from their every pore.

“What did he mean by that?” Seamus asked, biting his lip slightly.

“What do you mean?” Neji countered stoically.

“He said all Naruto had to do was wake up,” the Irish boy shook his head, dismissing the rest. “So why hasn’t he?”

“Ya know, that’s a good question, Nej,” Kiba scratched his head. “Why _hasn’t_ he woken up yet? Unless…”

“Unless he’s retreated to his healing zone,” the Hyuuga nodded, picking up on the dog ninja’s train of thought. “In that case…”

“Kyu would want to be as far away from Naruto as possible,” Gaara said from the doorway. “Shu always tried to stay longer when I let him out. He’s going for one last walk, as it were.”

“So Kyu knows he’ll wake soon, and is preparing for it,” Shino spoke up from his place beside Kiba. “He probably was Naruto’s consciousness in his mind.”

“He went away so as not to cause as big a scene should Naruto pull him back,” Gaara shrugged. “We should prepare for three more days.”

The wizards had no idea what the shinobi were talking about, well all except Harry but he wasn’t going to say anything, and quickly dismissed it as they crawled into bed.

888888

Kyuubi wandered the halls, muttering darkly to himself about jumped up Hyuugas and damn promises. To the casual observer, the tall redhead looked like he had a purpose to his stride, but in reality the demon fox had no real destination in mind, he just wanted to get away from that stuffy tower and the annoying brats residing therein. He had just decided to head outside when the doors of Hogwarts opened.

Using the stealth provided from living years inside a ninja host, as well as his natural demon abilities, Kyuubi melded into the shadows at the bottom of the stairs. A dark clad figure stumbled into the castle and only the quick reflexes of the fox kept the new arrival’s face from meeting the floor.

“You’re a wreck,” the redhead sneered, his nose crinkling as he caught the man’s scent. “Damn, you smell like Moldywarts.”

A dark, pain-filled eye cracked open and a dark brow rose in incredulous disbelief, “Excuse me?” he managed to croak out before doubling up in pain.

 **“Moldywarts, Kyu?”** Naruto’s chuckle rang through the demon’s head. **“Honestly, and they say I’m bad at giving out nicknames. I fall asleep for a few hours and you decide to go roaming around giving out horrible nicknames to evil villains. Let me back in control and I’ll fix this.”**

 **“Kit,”** Kyuubi growled but it was too late, Naruto had shoved him back into the recesses of his own head.

“Sorry bout that… Professor Snape,” blue eyes looked down at the figure in his arms and helped him regain his footing. “I meant Voldemort.”

 **“Get back to your own body, brat,”** Kyuubi snarled, pushing Naruto out of the forefront of his consciousness. **“I’m sure the Hyuuga brat wants to have a word with you.”**

 **“What do you mean, my own body, I’m the one in charge here,”** Naruto scoffed, pouting slightly.

 **“Do you not remember giving me my own body with that stupid ‘spell’ you cast? Now get!”** With a final push, Naruto’s conscious was driven out of the demon’s body and back into his own. “Damn kit, doesn’t know what’s good for him,” he muttered under his breath.

“Internal problem?” Snape asked, having slightly overcome his pain, at least enough to stay on his feet and regain some of his former dignity.

“Not really,” the redhead grinned evilly. “Seriously though, you should head to the hospital wing. I’m sure you’ll want to be in top condition for classes tomorrow. Wouldn’t want the kiddies to see their evil Potions professor looking anything other than intimidating, you’d lose your edge. For a mortal, you’ve got the whole scary persona perfected.”

“I thank you for your assistance,” Snape held up his hand to silence the demon’s babbling. He nodded briskly before heading off in the direction of the hospital wing.

888888

“Hey Neji?” Harry asked, once all the others were safely enclosed in their beds, with the curtains drawn.

“Yes, Harry?” Neji looked over from his place by Naruto’s side, the even breathing around the room telling him the other boys had fallen asleep.

“I was wondering, well Hermione was wondering,” Harry sighed in thought, “if you guys would be willing to teach us Japanese. By us I mean, me, Hermione, Ron, and Draco. But that way we would be able to talk without running a big risk of others knowing what we’re talking about.”

“Why can’t you just perform the translating spell Dumbledore placed on us?” dark brows narrowed in thought.

“I asked Hermione the same thing,” the wizard chuckled slightly. “She said for that spell to work you have to have at least a basic grasp of the language you want things translated into.”

“That makes sense,” the long haired teen nodded. “I will speak to Gaara and see if we can arrange something for the four of you.”

“Thank you,” Harry said quietly, and lay back in his bed to try and go to sleep.

The two boys fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts. Suddenly the peaceful sleepiness of the dormitory was shattered by a rather loud and obnoxious, but much anticipated voice.

_“Goddamn it, you no good, fucking fox!”_

“Naruto!” Neji sat up straight and wrapped his arms around his now wide awake boyfriend.

The other occupants in the dormitory shot up at the loud noises, looking over to the blond’s bed. There wrapped up in Hyuuga’s arms was the formerly comatose jinchuuriki. Three boys jumped out of their beds and ran over to Naruto, prying off Neji and enveloping him each in turn.

“It’s good to have ya back, Naruto,” Kiba grinned impishly.

“Welcome back,” Shino gave a half smile.

“Well, squirt,” Kankuro chuckled, “how’s it feel to be back among the living. Gaara was so sure you’d be out for three more days.”

“What can I say,” Naruto rubbed his neck sheepishly, “I’ve always been a fast healer.”

 _“Naruto,”_ Neji said quietly, breaking into the excited babble of the other three shinobi, _“where’s Kyu?”_

 _“What do you mean, Nej?”_ blue eyes looked over at him in confusion. _“He’s where he’s supposed to be, isn’t he?”_

 _“You don’t remember, do you?”_ Neji sighed. _“You let Kyu out, when you tried to copy a Patronus charm.”_

 _“He has his own body, doesn’t he?”_ Naruto’s eyes widened in realization of what Kyu had told him before he woke up. _“He told me and I didn’t understand.”_

 _“Understandable, you’ve been unconscious for over a day and you passed out before he fully materialized,”_ the brunet said softly, wrapping his arm around the blond’s shoulders. _“Are you going to call him back to his cage?”_

 _“Has he hurt anyone?”_ Naruto asked quietly.

 _“No, but then tonight is the first time since he brought you here that he’s been out of this room,”_ Neji shook his head, not sure what his boyfriend was getting at.

 _“I’ll talk with him, okay?”_ the blond sighed. _“I know you guys have no reason to trust him, but I do. I don’t know if I feel confident enough to keep him out of his cage, but it might be for the best, ya know?”_

 _“Do what you feel you must,”_ Neji nodded in acceptance of his captain’s words. If Naruto trusted Kyuubi to be out, he had no right to question that judgment.

Naruto stared out the window as a firework zoomed past, but his vacant eyes didn’t seem to catch it.

 **“Kyuubi, where are you?”** he asked the fox.

 **“Outside,”** the demon answered quietly. **“Whenever you’re ready I’ll go back.”**

 **“Can I trust you, Kyu?”** Naruto sighed. **“Can I trust that you won’t hurt anyone if I leave you out?”**

 **“Do you even have to ask, kit?”** Kyuubi bowed his head, awaiting his sentence. **“You know I’d do nothing to hurt you. If that means not hurting anyone else, then so be it. That is unless they threaten you, then you know as well as I that I can’t be held responsible for my actions.”**

 **“Alright,”** a smile crossed Naruto’s face. **“Go run, Kyu, I know you want to. Just don’t make me regret trusting you.”**

 **“I won’t, kit, I promise,”** and with that the nine tailed demon fox took off into the trees of the Forbidden Forest.


	22. Career Advice? Are You Kidding Me?

Chapter 22: Career Advice? Are You Kidding Me?

 

It was the first day of the Easter holidays and Hermione, as was her custom, had spent a large part of the day drawing up study schedules for the three of them. Harry and Ron had let her do it—it was easier than arguing with her and, in any case, they might come in useful. She had tried to do the same for the shinobi but they had flat out refused to accept them, saying they had better things to do with their time than study for exams that didn’t concern them. In fact, most of the time there were only three of them present in the common room since the break had started that morning.

As Hermione handed Harry and Ron their schedules, Gaara approached the Golden Trio.

“Sorry to interrupt,” he said quietly, not looking the least bit sorry, “but I was wondering if you were serious in your request, Harry?”

Hermione and Ron looked at their raven haired friend curiously, not sure what the Kazekage was going on about. Harry looked at the redhead in confusion for a moment, but it cleared quickly.

“Oh, right, yeah,” he said a bit sheepishly. “Yeah, I was serious. If you guys are willing?”

“What are you going on about, mate?” Ron asked, not liking being left out of the loop.

“Very well,” Gaara nodded. “I shall be teaching you; Sakura shall teach Hermione, as Temari has no patience for such things; and Neji shall teach Ron, for Kankuro would quickly lose interest.”

“Why can’t Naruto teach me?” Harry gulped slightly, not sure he wanted the stoic redhead alone with him for long periods of time, especially in a role where he had authority over him.

“Naruto has to keep an eye on Kyu,” the Kazekage shrugged. “And even if he was not, he does not have the drive to teach something he would deem frivolous.”

“Teach us what?” Ron huffed, standing up and almost getting in Gaara’s face, almost.

Jade green eyes rose and locked with indignant blue, “Japanese, of course.”

“Oh,” Hermione looked up startled and then grinned. “That’s great. Thank you, Gaara.”

“But when will we have the time?” Ron groaned, looking down at his newly made schedule.

“We will discuss this later,” Gaara waved his hand dismissively, as if it was none of his concern. “Just know that none of us will take this mission lightly, and we expect you to do the same.”

The trio nodded their acceptance. Gaara nodded once and headed back over to his siblings, who were sitting on the other side of the common room.

That night began the new regime as Ron dubbed it, where the three of them with their language tutors would sit down for at least an hour each night and work on having the three of them learn the basics of the Japanese language.

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As thought to underline the importance of their upcoming examinations, a batch of pamphlets, leaflets, and notices concerning various wizarding careers appeared on the tables in Gryffindor Tower shortly before the end of the holidays, along with yet another notice on the board, which read:

CAREER ADVICE

All fifth years will be required to attend a short meeting with their Head of House during the first week of the Summer term, in which they will be given the opportunity to discuss their future careers. Times of individual appointments are listed below.

 

The shinobi quickly located their names on the list and made a mental note of the times and dates.

As it stood, Shino was the first of their group to head to McGonagall’s office. He noted Professor Umbridge’s presence but decided to ignore her, as was his wont.

“Sit down, Aburame,” McGonagall motioned to a chair in front of her desk.

The bug ninja complied and gave his Head of House a rather blank stare.

“So,” she cleared her throat slightly, “this meeting is to talk over any career ideas you might have, and to help you decide which subjects you should continue into sixth and seventh years.”

“I really don’t believe this is necessary, Professor,” Shino said quietly. “As I will be leaving at the end of term, my studying for your exams is rather pointless.”

“ _Hem, hem,_ ” Umbridge cleared her throat, causing the two in the meeting to look at her. “If I may say so,” she began sweetly, “O.W.L.s are not something to be taken lightly. Even if you will be attending a different school next year, all magical communities base their scores off a standard system.”

Shino raised his hand to his face, intending to push up his glasses, which he realized belatedly weren’t on his face, “I beg your pardon, Professor Umbridge, but I know for a fact that not all systems are the same. For someone in your position within the British Ministry, I find your lack of knowledge less than satisfying. Perhaps it would be best if you picked a different career, instead of spreading your ignorance around.”

Umbridge’s face took on an indignant look and she began writing something on the clipboard in her hand. McGonagall cleared her throat, and Shino gave her a smirk, having taken note of the concealed amusement.

“Anyway, have you thought about what career you might want to pursue?” she got back to business at hand. “I may not be able to give you definitives, but I can help steer you in the proper direction.”

Shino shrugged, “I want to do something worthwhile for my village, perhaps something along the lines of defense.”

“In that case,” McGonagall smirked slightly, knowing this for the disguise it was, “I would recommend looking into the classes required for an Auror. If that is all, you may go.”

“Thank you for your time, Professor,” he bowed to her and then proceeded out of the room.

Sakura was up next and she entered with her usual smile. McGonagall motioned for her to take a seat.

“Now, Haruno, have you thought about what you’d like to do once you finish school?” the stern professor asked, getting strait to the point.

“Oh, I want to be a medic,” the pinkette said confidently.

“That will take a lot of effort on your part, Haruno,” McGonagall smiled slightly. “But I have no doubt that you will go far in that particular field, if your grades are anything to go by.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” the medic ninja smiled. “If that is all, may I return to class?”

“Don’t you want to know the requirements for that particular field, Miss Haruno?” Umbridge asked from her spot in the corner.

“Oh, I think I know what’s required,” she gave her most sweet smile to the toad-like professor. “I wouldn’t have chosen that field if I had any doubts about my ability to accomplish my goal. Good day.” With that she left the two professors sitting in the office.

That evening it was Neji’s turn and he strode purposefully into the office and took a seat before McGonagall could offer.

“Professor McGonagall, Professor Umbridge,” he greeted them both with a polite nod.

“Thank you for coming, Hyuuga,” McGonagall inclined her head in acknowledgement. “As you know, we are here to discuss your future after you finish your schooling.”

“Of course,” he cocked his head to the side, waiting for her to continue.

“So,” she cleared her throat self-consciously, nervous under his intense gaze. “What do you plan to do when you finish school?”

“I plan to protect my village to the best of my capabilities,” Neji replied stoically. “And help my cousin become the best Head of our clan we’ve ever had.”

“While both noble goals, I’m sure,” Umbridge said in her sickeningly sweet voice. “Are you sure they cater to your talents, Mr. Hyuuga? According to your class records, you are one of the top students in this school. You could go on to be anything you wanted, I’d even go so far as to say Minister of Magic for Japan.”

“Noble goals?” he scowled at the toad-like teacher. “What would you know about being noble, or loyalty?” He took a breath and schooled his features, his face becoming blank once again. “No, I have no aspirations to be a leader. However, I will support the two people in my life who do desire that and will back them up, with force if necessary.”

“Thank you, Hyuuga,” McGonagall cut in before Umbridge could insult the trained ninja again, though she thought it would’ve been quite amusing to see the Ministry official beaten to a pulp. “I wish you and your friends luck, and I hope, for your sake, that they reach their goals. That will be all.”

Neji rose gracefully from his chair and bowed to each of his professors, though if one were watching closely, they would’ve noticed the sneer crossing his features as he paid respect to Umbridge.

“ _Hem, hem,_ ” Umbridge coughed slightly from her seat next to the desk. “You do know, Mr. Inuzuka, that dogs are not on the animal list of Hogwarts, correct? And even if they were, you would not be allowed to take them with you wherever you went?”

“Well, lucky for me I have special permission to have him here, then, isn’t it?” he rolled his eyes.

“Oh, would that be from the previous Headmaster?” she gave him her sickeningly sweet smile. “If that is the case, I’m afraid that just won’t do. The dog will have to leave immediately.”

“Listen here, ya old hag,” he snarled. “You touch Akamaru and I won’t be held responsible for his or my actions. And for your information, it wasn’t Dumbledore who gave me permission to bring him here, it was the leader of my village, and unless you want to start a war over a dog, I’d suggest you back off. Akamaru stays.”

“If you are quite through trying to instigate a war, Dolores,” McGonagall cleared her throat. “I believe we are here to talk to Inuzuka about what he’d like to do after he finishes school. Any ideas on that, Inuzuka?”

“Well,” Kiba grinned mischievously, “I always wanted to become a ninja, do they teach any classes with that as a focus?”

McGonagall had to quickly cover a laugh with a cough, while Umbridge just glared at the shaggy haired brunet.

“Mr. Inuzuka, this is a serious matter we are discussing here,” the new Headmistress said coldly. “And if you think it is better to waste our time with your jokes, you will find yourself in a month’s worth of detention with myself.”

“Aright then,” he rolled his eyes. “Aside from my dream of being a ninja, I thought working with animals might be good. My sister and mom do that, so I’ll probably follow in their shoes.”

“With that in mind, let’s take a look at your marks,” McGonagall nodded, pulling out a paper. “Well, I see your Care of Magical Creatures grade is excellent. I would also recommend Charms and Potions for that particular field, possibly even Herbology. That will be all, Inuzuka.”

“Thanks, prof,” he beamed as he stood to leave, Akamaru jumping down from his head and into his waiting arms. “Catch ya around.”

And with that he was gone.

Meanwhile, down in the dungeons, the laziest ANBU in history walked into the office of one Severus Snape. With a careless stride, Shikamaru walked over and flopped gracelessly into the chair in front of his Head of House.

“So, what do ya want to talk about?” he asked, crossing his arms behind his head and tilting the chair back.

“We are here, Mr. Nara, to discuss your plans for when you leave this school,” Snape began with a sneer. “However, if you feel that this is beneath you, then please, by all means, leave so I can get on with my day.

Before the shadow ninja could open his mouth to counter, there was a slight rapping on the door. The dour Potions Master glared at the portal for a moment before calling for the person to enter. Two chair legs hit the floor rather loudly as the door opened and revealed Dolores Umbridge in all her pink glory.

“I’m sorry for being late, Severus,” she said in her most girly voice, “but I was held up upstairs. As you know, as High Inquisitor and the new Headmistress, I have the right to sit in on these meetings, so I will just be observing as you talk with young Mr. Nara here. So, please continue, and don’t mind me.”

“Very well,” Snape barely kept his voice neutral. “As I was saying Mr. Nara, before we were so rudely interrupted, what do you have planned for when you finish school?”

“This is such a drag,” Shikamaru sighed heavily. “Well, all I ever wanted was to be an average guy, with an average job, marry an average girl, and have a couple of average kids.”

“That’s not very ambitious of you, Mr. Nara,” Umbridge spoke up from her seat in the corner, causing the two males in the room to glare at her, well Shika just gave her a lazy look.

“I never said I was ambitious, Professor,” he shrugged, tilting his chair back once again. “It’ll never happen anyway.”

“And why is that, Mr. Nara?” Snape cocked a brow curiously. “Judging by your grades, you could go on to be anything you wanted. You could even become the next Minister of Magic for Japan.”

“Too troublesome,” the shadow nin yawned. “And anyway, my dream won’t come true cause I’ll never have a wife and kids. I’ll just have to help my best friend fulfill my dream with his wife, and my former sensei’s family.”

“What do you mean by that?” Umbridge’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“I help my late sensei’s wife take care of their baby,” Shikamaru frowned. “And my best friend and his wife are expecting sometime this summer. Anyway, is this meeting over with yet? I’d like to get to lunch before it’s too late.”

“Of course, Mr. Nara,” Snape nodded briskly, hoping the toad would leave with him.

The chair clattered back to its original position as the lazy ANBU stood and took his leave. The two professors stared after him for a moment before Umbridge got up abruptly from her seat and followed him out of the office.

After lunch, Gaara strode purposefully up to McGonagall’s office. Once he was granted permission, he entered and took the seat provided, completely ignoring the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

“Now, Sabaku,” McGonagall began without much ado, “we are here to discuss what you want to do once you complete your education.”

“I know,” he nodded.

“So, do you have any ideas on the matter?” the Transfiguration teacher prompted.

“I don’t need you to tell me what I should do after I leave here,” he said in a monotone. “I will return to my village and continue what I was doing before I arrived.”

“And that would be?” Umbridge inquired from her seat in the corner.

“I will lead my people to the best of my abilities,” he gave her a blank stare. “As I have done for the past few years.”

“Your people would willingly follow a child?” the toad asked incredulously.

“My people have known me since the day I was born,” the redhead said evenly. “They know I will do my utmost to protect them, even going so far as to lay down my life for their safety. If that is all you wanted to see me for, I believe I will be going, as I have a class to attend.”

“Yes, Sabaku, that is all,” McGonagall nodded in a show of respect.

Without another word, the Kazekage turned on his heel and left the room.

The next to grace the cat Animagus’ office was the second of the Sand siblings, Kankuro. He dropped down into the chair in front of McGonagall’s desk and gave her a lopsided grin.

“Well, I guess you want to know what I want to do when I leave, huh?” he asked nonchalantly.

“That is the general idea, Sabaku,” McGonagall smirked slightly, trying to contain her laughter.

“Ya see, I was thinking I wanted to work with puppets,” the puppeteer scratched his chin in mock thought. “What would you suggest for that line of work?”

“Puppets, you say?” the stern looking witch frowned in thought. “Well, if that is the case, I would suggest Charms and Transfiguration, especially.”

“I agree, those two would be helpful,” he nodded. “And Potions and Herbology.”

“And why would you need those two?” Umbridge asked in disdain, not believing her fellow educator was going along with this sham.

“Poisons and antidotes, of course,” the brunet looked at her in disbelief. “You can’t have a good puppet master without them knowing the basics of those.”

“Do you want to be a puppeteer or an assassin, Mr. Sabaku?” Umbridge sneered.

“What? You mean I can’t be both?” he asked as if this was a revelation to him. “Well shit, I better tell that to Sasori. Oh wait, he’s dead.”

“This is not a laughing matter, Mr. Sabaku,” Umbridge pushed to her feet in outrage.

“Uh, no one’s laughing,” he countered, keeping his seat and studying his fingernails. “And anyway, don’t you have a class to teach?”

“That will be all, Sabaku, you may go,” McGonagall waved him out of the room, giving Dolores a stern look.

Kankuro shrugged and left the room, waving at his Head of House on the way out the door.

Not long after the puppeteer had left, Temari entered the office confidently. She took the proffered seat with her head held imperiously high, like she was superior to both professors in the room.

“Now, Miss Sabaku,” McGonagall began, “have you thought about what you’d like to do after you finish school?”

“Yes,” the blond kunoichi nodded. “I want to be my village’s equivalent to your Aurors.”

“Ah,” the witch pursed her lips in thought. “A straight forward answer. Now, the recommended courses for that line of work are Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Potions, and Charms.”

“Sounds reasonable enough,” Temari nodded, and then turned to look at the new Headmistress. “Do you have anything to add? I heard you liked to give commentary on what career choices were being discussed.”

Umbridge had a look of utter disbelief on her face, while McGonagall quickly covered her mouth with her hand to hide her smile.

“No,” the toad-like woman finally shook her head, “I don’t think I have anything to say to that.”

“Well then, if that is all…” the blonde turned her attention back to the Transfiguration teacher.

“I do believe we are through here,” McGonagall nodded, her eyes dancing with mirth at the way the teen had handled her colleague.

That same day after Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Naruto and Gaara followed Harry to Umbridge’s office, though the raven haired teen didn’t seem to notice them at all. Of course, that could’ve been attributed to the fact that they were hanging from the ceiling.

Shortly after Harry had disappeared in the office, the two shinobi heard the definitive barks of Akamaru. Knowing that something was up, Naruto left Harry in Gaara’s care and took off toward the ninja dog. He found Kiba and Akamaru in the entrance hall, along with almost the entire school.

 _“What’s going on?”_ the ANBU captain asked curiously.

 _“Fred and George are about to get in serious trouble, that’s what,”_ Kiba growled quietly. _“I don’t know why they decided to do it, but they created a swamp and now Umbridge is involved.”_

 _“I see,”_ Naruto nodded. _“What can we do about it?”_

 _“Quite frankly, nothing,”_ the dog ninja shook his head. _“Unless of course, we want to get kicked out. She’s already threatened me, cause of Akamaru.”_

 _“Let’s just wait and see what happens,”_ the blond finally conceded.

“So!” said Umbridge triumphantly, once more looking down upon her prey. “So… you think it amusing to turn a school corridor into a swamp, do you?”

“Pretty amusing, yeah,” said Fred, looking back up at her without the slightest sign of fear.

Filch elbowed his way closer to Umbridge, almost crying with happiness.

“I’ve got the form, Headmistress,” he said hoarsely, waving a piece of parchment. “I’ve got the form and I’ve got the whips waiting…. Oh, let me do it now….”

“Very good, Argus,” she said. “You two,” she went on, gazing down at Fred and George, “are about to learn what happens to wrongdoers in my school.”

“You know what?” said Fred. “I don’t think we are.”

He turned to his twin.

“George,” said Fred. “I think we’ve outgrown full-time education.”

“Yeah, I’ve been feeling that way myself,” said George lightly.

“Time to test our talents in the real world, d’you reckon?” asked Fred.

“Definitely,” said George.

And before Umbridge could say a word, they raised their wands and said together, _“Accio Brooms!”_

“You’ve got to admit,” said a chuckling voice next to Naruto, “those two know how to do it right.”

“I have to agree, Kyu,” Naruto shook his head. “I never would’ve thought of getting out of it like that.”

The twins’ brooms had stopped in front of them.

“We won’t be seeing you,” Fred told Professor Umbridge, swinging his leg over his broomstick.

“Yeah, don’t bother to keep in touch,” said George, mounting his own.

Fred looked around at the assembled students, and at the silent, watchful crowd.

“If anyone fancies buying a Portable Swamp, as demonstrated upstairs, come to number ninety-three Diagon Alley—Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes,” he said in a loud voice. “Our new premises!”

“Special discounts to Hogwarts students who swear they’re going to use our products to get rid of this old bat,” added George, pointing at Professor Umbridge.

“STOP THEM!” shrieked Umbridge, but it was too late.

And with one last command to Peeves the Poltergeist, they were gone.

“Well, that was an interesting turn of events,” the blond ANBU captain turned to Kiba and Shino, who had joined them in the commotion. _“I do believe you two only have one charge left, though if you wouldn’t mind, Shino, I’d still like to keep tabs on those two.”_

 _“Already done, Captain,”_ the bug ninja smirked slightly.

“Good then,” he beamed.

888888

The following day, just before lunch, Naruto skipped up to the Head of Gryffindor’s office, for his meeting with her about what career he wanted, Kyuubi following closely behind him. When McGonagall called entrance, the pair of them walked in and Naruto took the available chair in front of McGonagall’s desk, while Kyuubi took up a spot leaning against the wall.

“Excuse me,” Professor Umbridge said from her spot, “but if I may be so bold, Mr. Uzumaki, what are you still doing here? Your son is now fine and your presence is no longer required at this school.”

“And if I may be so bold,” the fox demon glared at her, “I don’t trust this fucking school with his safety, and if it wouldn’t insight a goddamn war, I would have him out of this shit hole of a school before the fucking day was out. But as it stands, his leaving now would only cause shit to hit the fan. However, I shall be remaining here till the end of the year, to make sure there are no repeat performances of earlier this year. Now, I do believe this meeting is about my kit, and not me.”

“Yes, of course,” McGonagall nodded, turning her full attention to Naruto. “Uzumaki, do you have any plans for after you finish school?”

“I’m going to be the leader of my village, believe it!” he punched his fist into the air to emphasize his point.

 _“Hem, hem,”_ Umbridge cleared her throat. “If you’ll excuse me again, I would like to say that I highly doubt you to be capable of leading anything, much less an entire village.”

“Well,” Kyuubi scoffed, “I find you utterly fucking incapable of leading anything, but look at you. Luckily, however, my kit’s got a good head on his fucking shoulders and knows what he’s doing.”

“In that case, Uzumaki,” McGonagall continued as if the other two adults in the room hadn’t spoken, “I would recommend you pick up your grades in all areas of study, as a leader is required to know vast amounts at a moment’s notice and be able to respond to any crisis.”

“Alrighty,” the blond beamed at her, trying not to laugh at the rambling thoughts that Kyu was having about Umbridge. “I will try harder then, and you have my word on that. Thank you for your time, and I’ll see ya around.”

“Always a pleasure, Uzumaki,” McGonagall gave him the barest hint of a smile before he left the room.


	23. Of Demons and Giants

Chapter 23: Of Demons and Giants

 

Inspired by Fred and George’s example, a great number of students were now vying for the newly vacant positions of Troublemakers-in-Chief, though none seemed to be more of a shoe-in than one Naruto Uzumaki. Evidence of the blond’s escapades were everywhere, though only the shinobi knew this for certain.

Two days after the twins departure, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom had to be closed off, and subsequently that class canceled for the day, as a giant toad, almost the size of the room, had decided to camp out there for the day. This stunt had earned the blond a clap on the back from both Kiba and Kankuro.

The following day, the entire Great Hall had been painted to look like a huge forest, eerily similar to the Forbidden Forest near Aragog’s nest, causing Sakura’s eye to twitch in annoyance. That same day at dinner, Umbridge had just begun eating when a swarm of beetles flew at her and began covering her plate, causing her to run screaming from the hall. That prank had earned him a stern glare from Shino, though none of the wizards could figure out why, they thought it was a very fitting prank.

There were many other little things he did to undermine her authority as well, and no one seemed willing to put a stop to it. That was until one of his more clever and, thus, messier pranks backfired on a certain Potions Master.

He had set up a clone on the ceiling of the Great Hall with a bucket of green dye ready to dump on her as soon as she walked into the room. He had stationed another clone outside, ready to give the signal indicating the old toad was coming.

The signal came five minutes into lunch and, as the door opened, the clone on the ceiling began his task. The dye landed with a sickening splash on top of the dour Potions professor, who had managed to beat Umbridge to the door by a fraction of a second. Snape looked up in time to see a puff of smoke as the clone disappeared. His eyes swept over the Gryffindor table, zeroing in on the too innocent blond sitting there. He stalked over, ignoring the woman behind him, and came to an abrupt halt before the shinobi.

“Uzumaki,” his voice was quiet, but laced with venom. “My office. _Now_.”

“I didn’t do anything, I swear,” blue eyes blinked at him in surprise. “You can ask anyone, I’ve been sitting here the whole time.”

“He has, Professor Snape,” Neji said from his right, a slight smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth. “In fact, no one has been up from this table since the meal began.”

Before the dour man could say another word, a large hand rested on his shoulder. He turned his head slightly, only to meet amused yellow eyes.

“You wouldn’t be accusing people of things without proof now would you, Snape?” Kyuubi’s lips quirked into a feral smirk. “Especially not when said person is my Kit.”

Snape’s dark eyes narrowed into a challenging glare. Amusement flooded through the demon at the mortal’s gall, not even the Uchiha had wanted to openly face his wrath, that’s why he’d been directed to the Leaf Village. Behind the pair, Umbridge shifted nervously. Onyx eyes drifted over to the movement, and a dark scowl crossed the Potions Master’s face.

“Fine,” he said through clenched teeth. “You’re off the hook this time, Uzumaki, but I will be watching you.”

With that the two professors went on their way. Umbridge continued up to the staff table, unaware that the whole front of her pink robes had been splashed with green dye; while Snape headed back out of the room, presumably to get rid of the dye. As soon as the teachers were well out of ear shot, both the demon and his vessel suppressed a shudder that ran down their spines for very different reasons.

“Damn,” Naruto leaned his head on Neji’s arm, “even when he’s green, he’s scary. He’s even worse than Iruka-sensei.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever you say, Kit,” Kyuubi said absently, frowning at the closed doors to the Hall. “I’ll catch ya at lunch, Kit. Need to do something.”

“Kyu…” the blond looked at the demon in confusion.

“Let him be, Naruto,” Neji said, pushing to his feet. “We’re due in Care of Magical Creatures. Besides, he won’t do anything stupid enough to get himself back in his cage.”

Without another word the redheaded demon made his way out of the Hall. Once in the entrance hall, he turned resolutely to the stairs that would take him down to the dungeons. He then followed the path Naruto had taken many times before to the Potions Master’s office.

He listened at the door for a moment, but didn’t hear anything from within. As quietly as he could, he opened the door, careful not to activate the wards. Once inside, he went over to the desk and flopped down in the empty chair, propping his feet up on the desk.

888888

The fifth year Gryffindors made their way across the grounds toward Hagrid’s cabin for their Care of Magical Creatures lesson. The Slytherins were already there along with Professor Umbridge, who still hadn’t realized her robes were discolored. Hagrid stood in front of his hut, shifting nervously from foot to foot, a thick book clutched tightly in his enormous hands. When everyone had finally gathered around, Hagrid motioned for all of them to have a seat.

“Today,” he cleared his throat slightly, “we’ll be doin’ a bit o’ book learnin’.”

Everyone stared at the half-giant in disbelief, well except the shinobi of course. In the past almost three years they’d been in this class they’d not had a non practical lesson. True, they’d used their books before, but there had always been a creature present for them to study.

“Now,” Hagrid nodded decisively, “if you’ll take out yer books, and turn ta the last chapter, we’ll begin.”

There was a rustling as everyone took out their books and stroked the spines so they’d open without snapping.

“Demons?” Seamus Finnigan frowned. “Why would anyone want to take care of one?”

“Highly misunderstood creatures, demons,” Hagrid frowned slightly. “Now, as ta why anyone would want ta take care o’ one, it may come ta the point when ya have no choice in the matter. I have here,” he tapped the book he still held in his hands, “a book I picked up in my travels earlier this year. I had it translated, and felt it would be worth sharin’.”

“Mr. Hagrid,” Umbridge said loudly and slowly, “I’m sure you are aware…”

“Are you aware ya have green dye on yer robes?” the gamekeeper scowled, having just spotted the toad like woman.

The squat woman looked down at her front and gave a small ‘eep’ of surprise. The assembled students chuckled silently as the current Headmistress took off at a waddling jog back toward the castle. As soon as she was out of sight, the Gryffindors burst into a round of applause for their teacher, while the Slytherins just stood there in apparent shock, though Draco threw Harry an almost imperceptible smirk and a wink.

“As I was sayin’,” Hagrid shook his head slightly, a smile splitting his face, “most of ya will never come across a friendly type demon in yer life.” Here most of the shinobi snorted. “It says here though, that demons can take human mates if they find one worthy enough. If they find ya worthy, they’ll mark ya, whether ya want it or not. Now it’s then that knowin’ how ta deal with ‘em comes in handy.

“Now, ya don’t want ta back down from a demon, they’ll kill ya,” he said gravely. “Even the friendlier ones will. What ya want ta do there is redirect their attention away from you, then run like the dickens. Though if ya can get on the good side of one of the friendlier ones, the worst they’ll do ta ya is play tricks on ya. If ya do manage that yeh’ll have no better protection in the world. Not even the worst spell known ta wizards can kill one, it’s like they’re made out of pure magic. There are rituals in this book that have been rumored to have been used to contain a demon, but it not only takes great power to do that, but it’s also very risky ta the caster.

“Now, who can tell me some o’ the demons yeh’ve come across over the years, whether in Defense or whatnot?” he looked around expectantly.

A few hands rose into the air, not surprisingly Hermione’s was among the first. Several of the shinobi’s had risen as well.

“Hermione?” he nodded at the bush haired Gryffindor.

“Well, there are grindylows, water demons,” she began. “And then…”

Hagrid held up his hand to silence her, “Very good. Gaara?”

“Shukaku, the demon of the Sand,” he answered in a monotone.

“Ah,” the gamekeeper nodded, “the legendary bijuu. It makes sense that’d yeh’d heard o’ those ones. I hear they’re quite a well known story in Japan.”

“Yeah,” Kankuro glowered darkly. “Can we move on now?”

Shortly thereafter, the bell rang and they all made their way to their next classes. As the approached the greenhouses, Harry, Ron, and Hermione hung back a bit to have a private word with the ninja.

“Hey, Naruto,” Harry asked, practicing his Japanese, “is that true? Is that why you and Kyu get along? You befriended him?”

“Kinda,” the blond shrugged. “I’m a jinchuuriki. Kyu and I are bound together for better or worse.”

“So you’re his mate?” Hermione asked, a frown marring her features.

“Eww, no,” Naruto pulled a face. “No, I’m his cage. That ritual Hagrid was talking about to contain a demon… that’s what happened. The Fourth Hokage performed that ritual and sealed Kyu in me. Our lives are bound together, I die, he dies, that type of thing. It wasn’t too long ago that we became friends, I guess you could call it.”

“What about the mate thing, though?” Ron chimed in curiously. “Is it true that they can mark whoever they please?”

Naruto and Gaara shared a look. The redhead gave an almost non-detectable shrug, that only the shinobi caught for what it really was.

“Don’t know,” the blond sighed. “I’d have to ask Kyu, and he’s not answering at the moment.”

888888

Snape walked into his office after the final lesson of the day, intent on grading essays before having to supervise detentions. His plans, however, deteriorated when he entered the room and saw the man seated at his desk.

“How did you get in here?” he demanded, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Your wards were easy enough for me to bypass,” the fox smirked. “Or did you honestly forget who I am?”

“Your continued presence at this school,” Snape sneered, “is a constant reminder of who and what you are. That does not mean it pleases anyone involved.”

“I do admire your spirit,” Kyuubi shook his head, pushing to his feet. “There are not many who would dare stand up to me, demon or mortal.”

“I am overwhelmed by your admiration,” the Potions Master said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “Let me fall to my knees in gratitude.”

“Sarcasm actually becomes you,” amber eyes danced with mischievous amusement.

“If that is all,” Snape scoffed, moving toward his desk, “you know where the door is, show yourself out.”

Kyuubi stepped out into the man’s path, “You serve two masters, yet neither owns you, though one has marked you.” He grabbed Snape’s left arm and almost ripped the sleeve back to reveal the Dark Mark. “If you can call that pitiful excuse of magic a proper marking.”

“I demand you unhand me at once,” Snape snarled, trying to wrench his arm free, with very little success.

“You don’t know much about demons, do you?” the fox demon pulled the man in by the arm he still had in his grasp, the latter not noticing the elongating of the demon’s eyeteeth. “Most importantly,” he hissed in Snape’s ear, “we take orders from no one.”

Kyuubi proceeded to sink his fangs into the Potions Master’s neck, directly over the pulse point, causing the dour man to release a silent scream. The demon allowed some of his chakra to flow through his fangs and into the mortal’s bloodstream. After a few moments, yellow eyes caught the beginnings of a shape forming on the back of Snape’s neck. He waited a few moments more, until it became a very clear spiral comprised of nine fox tails.

When he finally retracted his fangs, the Potions Master slumped forward, passed out from the intensity of the pain he’d just endured. Kyuubi caught him, and with a quick transformation jutsu to the desk, placed him down to sleep it off. With a final, possessive look at Snape’s unconscious form, he took his leave, a smirk firmly planted on his face.

The fox demon made his way up from the dungeons and to the Great Hall, where students were just beginning to assemble for the evening meal. He made his way over to the Gryffindor table, where his kit was already seated with the Hyuuga brat and their charges. He nudged the know-it-all witch aside so he could sit next to his kit, sensing the blond’s agitation with him but not quite giving a damn.

“Where were you all afternoon, Kyu?” Naruto asked quietly. “We wanted to ask you something, but you weren’t answering me.”

“I was taking care of some personal business,” his smirk widened exponentially.

“What did you do, Kyu?” blue eyes widened in alarm.

“You worry too much, Kit,” the fox ruffled the blond spikes playfully. “I didn’t kill, maim, or otherwise… harm anyone. Now, eat your dinner, you’re getting scrawny.”

888888

The final match of the Quidditch season, Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw, was to take place on the last weekend of May. The shinobi followed their charges down to the pitch, half of them preparing to keep a lookout for their charges in the air. Naruto was secretly glad that Harry wasn’t playing, as he felt so helpless when he’d last played, not having a jutsu that could take him into the air like some of his companions.

Shortly after the first goal was scored by Ravenclaw, the shinobi in the stands noticed Hagrid in the row behind them. He spoke quietly with Harry and Hermione for a moment, before all three of them began making their way out of the stands. After a quick, albeit silent, conversation with their Suna counterparts, Naruto and Sakura followed.

Across the stands two other people noticed their departure. Draco Malfoy leaned over and told Blaise he wasn’t feeling well, and that he was going back to the dorms. He then made his way out of the stands. Behind him, Shikamaru rolled his eyes before pushing slowly to his feet. Without a word to anyone, he left the stands in pursuit of the blond. As the pair passed the gamekeepers hut, the Shadow Ninja reached out and grabbed his fellow Slytherin’s shoulder, effectively bringing him to a halt.

“Do you know what the fuck you’re doing?” Shikamaru sighed heavily. “Or are you just going to rush headlong into the Forest?”

“I can’t just let him follow Hagrid,” Draco shook his head. “As good as his intentions may be, he’s not always the most logical when it comes to dangerous creatures or situations.”

“And did you fail to remember that both Harry and Hermione have trained guards with them?” the brunet pulled out a pack of cigarettes and flicked one into his mouth and lit it. “Or did you not see Naruto and Sakura leaving?”

“I don’t care,” he ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “He’s my boyfriend.”

“Fine,” Shikamaru took a long drag from the cigarette before flicking it away. “We’ll follow them. But you have to do exactly what I say if you don’t want to get us caught. Now get on my back and don’t make a sound.”

The blond complied readily, anything was better than just standing there. As soon as Draco was settled on his back, the Shadow Ninja took off into the Forbidden Forest, taking to the treetops effortlessly, even with the added burden. It didn’t take them long at all to catch sight of their query.

They followed the trail of wizards for a few moments before Shikamaru let out a low whistle, which greatly resembled a bird. A moment later, an answering call came from their right and the shinobi shifted course. The blond Slytherin blinked in surprise as they landed in a tree next to Naruto and Sakura.

“Shika, what are you doing here?” Naruto hissed so quietly that even Draco had a hard time hearing him. “And why did you bring him?”

“He wanted to follow his boyfriend,” the brunet shrugged. “That should answer both your questions. So what’s going on?”

“Not quite sure,” the jinchuuriki shook his head. “Hagrid hasn’t said much, just that the centaurs aren’t happy with him because he saved Firenze.”

“Quiet,” Sakura said suddenly. “Hagrid’s explaining.”

“Good!” Hermione’s voice carried easily, as Harry set her back on her feet. They both murmured _“Lumos!”_ and their wand tips ignited. Hagrid’s face swam through the gloom by the light of the two wavering beams and Harry saw that he looked nervous and sad again.

“Righ’,” said Hagrid. “Well… see… that thing is…”

He took a great breath.

“Well, there’s a good chance I’m goin’ ter be getting’ the sack any day now,” he said.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other, then back at him.

“But you’ve lasted this long—” Hermione said tentatively. “What makes you think—”

“Umbridge reckons it was me that put tha’ niffler in her office.”

“And was it?” said Harry, before he could stop himself.

“No, it ruddy well wasn’!” said Hagrid indignantly. “On’y anythin’ ter do with magical creatures an’ she thinks it’s got somethin’ ter do with me. Yeh know she’s bin lookin’ fer a chance ter get rid of me ever since I got back. I don’ wan’ ter go, o’ course, but if it wasn’ fer… well… the special circumstances I’m abou’ ter explain to yeh, I’d leave righ’ now, before she’s go’ the chance ter do it in front o’ the whole school, like she did with Trelawney.”

Harry and Hermione both made noises of protest, but Hagrid overrode them with a wave of his enormous hands.

“It’s not the end o’ the world, I’ll be able ter help Dumbledore once I’m outta here, I can be useful ter the Order. An’ you lot’ll have Grubbly-Plank, yeh’ll—yeh’ll get through yer exams fine….” His voice trembled and broke.

“Don’ worry abou’ me,” he said hastily, as Hermione made to pat his arm. He pulled his enormous spotted handkerchief from the pocket of his waistcoat and mopped his eyes with it. “Look, I wouldn’ be tellin’ yer this at all if I didn’ have ter. See, if I go… well, I can’ leave withou’…withou’ tellin’ someone… because I’ll—I’ll need yeh two ter help me. An’ Ron, if he’s willin’.”

“Of course we’ll help you,” said Harry at once. “What do you want us to do?”

Hagrid gave a great sniff and patted Harry wordlessly on the shoulder with such force that Harry was knocked sideways into a tree.

“I knew yeh’d say yes,” said Hagrid into his handkerchief, “but I won’… never… forget…. Well… c’mon… jus’ a little bit further through here…. Watch yourselves, now, there’s nettles….”

“That was completely pointless!” Draco hissed under his breath.

“Shut up and let’s go,” Naruto shook his head slightly, a smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth at the Slytherin’s frustration.

They continued to follow the three wizards into a clearing, a recently made clearing, if the uprooted trees scattered around the ground were any indication. They took in the clearing and nearly fell from their tree when they realized what they were actually seeing.

‘Holy Shit!’ Naruto cursed in his head.

 **“Hey, Kit,”** Kyuubi’s voice floated back across their link, **“did I mention there was a giant now living in the Forbidden Forest.”**

‘You fucking fox,’ he growled quietly. ‘Couldn’t have mentioned that before, could you? Asshole!’

Aloud he whispered, “Kyu knew.”

“Damn fox!” Shikamaru sighed. “He’s so troublesome.”

Not another word was spoken as Hagrid introduced Harry and Hermione to his half-brother Grawp. The shinobi shook their heads as they listened to what the half-giant was attempting to do, not that it wasn’t a noble goal, it was just a bit impractical.

It was as they started back through the Forest that trouble arose. There was a rustle of movement off to one side and Hagrid had Harry and Hermione stop.

“I thought that we told you, Hagrid,” said a deep male voice, “that you are no longer welcome here?”

A man’s naked torso seemed for an instant to be floating toward them through the dappled green half-light. Then they saw that his waist joined smoothly with a horse’s chestnut body. This centaur had a proud, high-cheekboned face and long black hair. Like Hagrid, he was armed: A quiverful of arrows and a long bow were slung over his shoulders.

“How are yeh, Magorian?” said Hagrid warily.

The trees behind the centaur rustled and four or five more emerged behind him. The three ninja tensed immediately, sensing trouble brewing.

“So,” a black-bodied and bearded one said, with a nasty inflection in his voice, before turning immediately to Magorian. “We agreed, I think, what we would do if this human showed his face in the forest again?”

“‘This human’ now, am I?” said Hagrid testily. “Jus’ fer stoppin’ all of yeh committin’ murder?”

“You ought not to have meddled, Hagrid,” said Magorian. “Our ways are not yours, nor are our laws. Firenze has betrayed and dishonored us.”

“I dunno how yeh work that out,” said Hagrid impatiently. “He’s done nothin’ except help Albus Dumbledore—”

“Firenze has entered into servitude to humans,” said a grey centaur with a hard, deeply lined face.

 _“Servitude_!” said Hagrid scathingly. “He’s doin’ Dumbledore a favor is all—”

“He is peddling our knowledge and secrets among humans,” said Magorian quietly. “There can be no return from such disgrace.”

“Sounds a lot like our laws,” Shikamaru shook his head sadly. “Though we do sound a bit more forgiving. But then again, we do have the Hunters.”

“Yeah,” the whiskered blond sighed. “Doesn’t mean everyone understands that. Or that it makes it right.”

“If yeh say so,” said Hagrid shrugging, “but personally I think yeh’re makin’ a big mistake—”

“As are you, human,” said Bane, “coming back into our forest when we warned you—”

“Now, you listen ter me,” said Hagrid angrily. “I’ll have less of the ‘our’ forest, if it’s all the same ter you. It’s not up ter you who comes an’ goes in here—”

“No more is it up to you, Hagrid,” said Magorian smoothly.

“Enough!” Naruto appeared between the two groups in a puff of smoke. ‘Kyu, give me access to your chakra, keep enough back to stay but I need to make an impression here.’

 **“Make your impression, Kit,”** the fox chuckled in his head. **“Teach those ponies not to mess with shinobi of the Leaf.”**

“Who are you?” Bane snapped, his face contorted in rage.

“A visitor,” the blond smirked, revealing a sharp, elongated eyetooth, before raising his now red eyes to look at the centaurs, who all took a nervous step back.

“This is not your concern, vessel,” Magorian shook his head.

“But it is,” he chuckled darkly. “Those two,” he nodded in Harry and Hermione’s direction, “they’re mind. And as Hagrid is with them, he’s mine too.”

For good measure, he leaked a little more of Kyuubi’s chakra, causing the centaurs to begin pawing the ground anxiously.

“Our quarrel is not with you, or your demon,” said Magorian, bowing slightly. “We would’ve let him pass today because he is accompanied by his young—”

“They’re not his!” interrupted Bane contemptuously, his outrage overcoming his fear. “Students, Magorian, from up at the school! They have probably already profited from the traitor Firenze’s teachings….”

“Nevertheless,” said Magorian calmly, “the slaughter of foals is a terrible crime…. We do not touch the innocent. Today, Hagrid, you pass. Henceforth, stay away from this place. You forfeited the friendship of the centaurs when you helped the traitor Firenze escape us.”

He looked at the blond to make sure he agreed. Naruto nodded, he would not interfere for the gamekeeper next time.

“I won’ be kept outta the fores’ by a bunch of mules like you!” said Hagrid loudly.

“Hagrid,” said Hermione in a higher-pitched and terrified voice, as both Bane and the grey centaur pawed at the ground, “let’s go, please let’s go!”

Hagrid moved forward, but his crossbow was still raised and his eyes were still fixed threateningly upon Magorian.

“We know what you are keeping in the forest, Hagrid!” Magorian called after them, as the centaurs slipped out of sight. “And our tolerance is waning!”

Naruto’s chakra spiked at the threat, it was one thing to have hard feelings toward Hagrid, he’d warranted them, but to not share the forest with other creatures was going too far. The centaur must’ve realized his mistake, for he pawed the ground before taking off quickly after his fellows. Hagrid, however, turned and gave every appearance of wanting to walk straight back to Magorian again.

“You’ll tolerate him as long as he’s here, it’s as much his forest as yours!” he yelled, while Harry and Hermione both pushed with all their might against Hagrid’s moleskin waistcoat in an effort to keep him moving forward. Still scowling, he looked down; his expression changed to mild surprise at the sight of them both pushing him. He seemed not to have felt it.

“Calm down, you two,” he said, turning to walk on while they panted along behind him, Naruto, meanwhile, fell into step with them. “Ruddy old nags though, eh?”

“Hagrid,” said Hermione breathlessly, skirting the patch of nettles they had passed on their way there, “if the centaurs don’t want humans in the forest, it doesn’t really look as though Harry and I will be able—”

“Ah, you heard what they said,” said Hagrid dismissively. “They wouldn’t hurt foals—I mean, kids. Anyway, we can’ let ourselves be pushed around by that lot….”

“Nice try,” Harry murmured to Hermione, who looked crestfallen.

“By the way, Naruto,” the half-giant looked back at the trio over his shoulder, “how’d yeh how up like tha’?”

“Just lucky, I guess,” he shrugged noncommittally. “Anyway, you need to watch yourself in there, Hagrid, they won’t hold back forever.”

Hagrid just waved his hand dismissively again and turned his attention back to the path.

Up in the trees, Sakura and Shikamaru parted so they were on either side of the path. Draco, still on the brunet’s back, was rather furious about what he’d just witnessed. He wanted to go to Harry and forbid him from going back into the forest ever again, but he knew the only thing that would accomplish would be to drive the raven haired boy away. He gave a sigh of resignation as they finally reached the edge of the forest.


	24. Examinations

Chapter 24: Examinations

 

The castle grounds were gleaming in the sunlight as though freshly painted, the cloudless sky smiled at itself in the smoothly sparkling lake, the satin-green lawns rippled occasionally in a gentle breeze: June had arrived, but to the fifth years this meant only one thing. Their O.W.L.s were upon them at last.

Their teachers were no longer setting them homework; lessons were devoted to reviewing those topics their teachers thought most likely to come up in the exams.

“What’s the point?!” Naruto yelled one evening in the common room, drawing all attention to himself. “It’s not like any of this shit matters! It’s not like we’re going to fucking use this shit! We can’t even fucking do magic!”

“Naruto!” Sakura and Hermione snapped in unison.

“It doesn’t matter that we’ll never use it,” Neji sighed quietly from behind his textbook, “we have a mission to complete.”

“Can you take this elsewhere?!” Hermione demanded irritably. “Some of us actually need to do well on these exams, and need to study.”

“Hyuuga,” Gaara said in a monotone, “take him elsewhere and do something.”

The long haired brunet gave a long suffering sigh before closing his book. He slipped all his things into his bag and then gracefully pushed to his feet. He went over to his boyfriend and pulled him to his feet as well. He then picked up both their bags and headed out of the portrait hole.

Once out in the hall, Neji began leading the blond away from the tower. He had no idea where to take Naruto. He knew the library was out, because if his superior had an outburst in there, they’d be banned for the remainder of the year, and since their charges were bound to be in there quite frequently it just wouldn’t be a good idea to get kicked out. He also didn’t think an unused classroom would be practical either, since curfew wasn’t too far off.

It was as they passed a portrait of a squat knight and his pony that it hit him. He could take Naruto to the Room of Requirement. They wouldn’t bother anyone there and no one would catch them if they stayed out late. He took on a more purposeful stride as they descended more flights of stairs.

When they reached the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, Neji began pacing back and forth before the bare stretch of wall, thinking, ‘I need a place to take Naruto… a comfortable place to take him…’

On the third pass, a door appeared. Grabbing the blond’s hand, Neji pushed it open. They went inside and the room was finally revealed. Color flooded the pale eyed teen’s face as he realized what the castle had provided for him.

Directly across from where they stood in front of the now closed door was a large bed covered with a deep green comforter and mounds of pillows. On the right hand wall was a magnificent fireplace, burning merrily. An ornate rug covered the floor in front of it, all the way to a plush sofa some four feet away. To the left was an oak wardrobe, Neji wasn’t sure he wanted to find out what was in there, and an open door into an opulent bathroom.

Naruto crossed the room and flopped dejectedly on the bed, oblivious to his surroundings and his boyfriend’s discomfort. Neji barely stifled a groan at the sight the blond presented, splayed across the bed as he was. He felt his pants tighten as Naruto raised his head and cerulean met silver.

“Naruto,” said Neji rather breathlessly.

“What’s wrong, Nej?” he propped himself up onto his elbows, to better see his boyfriend.

“We,” Neji cleared his suddenly dry throat, “we should study.”

“Aww,” the blond pouted, causing Neji to close his eyes to keep from jumping the oblivious kitsune vessel. “Can’t we just skip it? I mean, it’s not like we actually need to pass these Owl thingies. And no one’s here to keep up pretenses for.”

Naruto was right, there was no one present to monitor their actions. No mission, no Shikamaru, no Gaara, no Iruka, not even Kyuubi was there, they were completely alone. This had not happened since they’d gotten together. He dropped the two bookbags in his hand and within three strides was at the bed.

888888

They received their examination schedules and details of the procedure for O.W.L.s during their next Transfiguration lesson.

“As you can see,” Professor McGonagall told the class while they copied down the dates and times of their exams from the blackboard, “your O.W.L.s are spread over two successive weeks. You will sit the theory exams in the mornings and the practice in the afternoons. Your practical Astronomy examination, will, of course, take place at night.

“Now, I must warn you that the most stringent Anti-Cheating Charms have been applied to your examination papers. Auto-Answer Quills are banned from the examination hall, as are Remembralls, Detachable Cribbing Cuffs, and Self-Correcting Ink. Every year, I am afraid to say, seems to harbor at least one student who thinks that he or she can get around the Wizarding Examinations Authority’s rules.”

“Yeah, they’ll be nine this year,” Kankuro leaned forward slightly to whisper to Kiba and Shino. “Only we won’t get caught.”

Shino smirked, but his boyfriend let out a bark of laughter which caused McGonagall to glare sharply at him.

“I can only hope that it is nobody in Gryffindor. Our new—headmistress”—Professor McGonagall pronounced the word with the same look on her face that Aunt Petunia had whenever she was contemplating a particularly stubborn bit of dirt—“has asked the Heads of Houses to tell their students that cheating will be punished most severely—because, of course, your examination results will reflect upon the headmistress’s new regime at the school….”

Professor McGonagall gave a tiny sigh. Harry saw the nostrils of her sharp nose flare.

“However, that is no reason not to do your very best. You have your own futures to think about.”

“Please, Professor,” said Hermione, her hand in the air, “when will we find out our results?”

“An owl will be sent to you some time in July,” said Professor McGonagall.

88

Their first exam, Theory of Charms, was scheduled for Monday morning. Sunday was an uncomfortable sort of evening. Everyone was trying to do some last-minute studying but nobody seemed to be getting very far. Neji had been forced, once again, to escort Naruto elsewhere to keep him from being flayed alive by his fellow year mates, not that he minded in the least.

None of the fifth years talked much at breakfast next day. Parvati was practicing incantations under her breath while the salt cellar in front of her twitched, Hermione was rereading _Achievement in Charming_ so fast that her eyes appeared blurred, and Neville kept dropping his knife and fork and knocking over the marmalade. The shinobi, however, appeared relaxed, all but Sakura anyway, though her girlfriend tried futilely to keep the pinkette distracted.

Once breakfast was over, the fifth and seventh years milled around in the entrance hall while the other students went off to lessons. Then, at half-past nine, they were called forward class by class to reenter the Great Hall. Their four House tables had been removed and replaced instead with many tables for one, all facing the staff-table end of the Hall where Professor McGonagall stood facing them. When they were all seated and quiet she said, “You may begin,” and turned over an enormous hourglass on the desk beside her, on which were also spare quills, ink bottles, and rolls of parchment.

88

The fifth years ate lunch with the rest of the school (the four House tables reappeared over the lunch hour) and then trooped off into the small chamber beside the Great Hall, where they were to wait until called for their practical examinations. As small groups of students were called forward in alphabetical order, those left behind muttered incantations and practiced wand movements, occasionally poking one another in the back or eyes by mistake.

Shino was among the first group to enter the room. Sakura and Neji were in the same group, immediately following the one containing Hermione. Kiba followed in the next group. Shikamaru was in the same group as Draco Malfoy, the only shinobi who was actually with his charge for the practical. The three Sand shinobi went in together, unintentionally greatly intimidating the examiners. Naruto was in the last group with Ron. Somehow or other, they all managed to hoodwink the examiners into believing they were doing actual magic.

There was no time to relax that night—they went straight to the common room after dinner and submerged themselves in studying for Transfiguration next day. They had their Herbology exam on Wednesday and then, on Thursday, Defense Against the Dark Arts. On Friday, Harry and Ron and their guards had a day off while Hermione and her guards sat the Ancient Runes exam, and as they had the whole weekend in front of them, they permitted themselves a break from studying. They stretched and yawned beside the open window, through which warm summer air wafted over them.

The following Monday brought on their Potions exam, followed by Care of Magical Creatures on Tuesday. Then came Astronomy on Wednesday. They had to wait until evening for their practical Astronomy; the afternoon was devoted instead to Divination.

When they reached the top of the Astronomy tower at eleven o’clock they found a perfect night for stargazing, cloudless and still. The grounds were bathed in moonlight, and there was a slight chill in the air. Each of them set up his or her telescope and when Professor Marchbanks gave the word, proceeded to fill in the blank star chart he or she had been given.

The shinobi noticed the disturbance on the grounds and quickly focused their attention that way. However, they knew they couldn’t do anything, they didn’t want to start a war with the Ministry of Magic, especially since their nations weren’t believed to be real. Their tolerance was tested, however, when no fewer than four stunners had shot from the figures around the cabin toward Professor McGonagall. Halfway between the cabin and castle the red beams collided with her. For a moment she looked luminous, illuminated by an eerie red glow, then was lifted right off her feet, and was caught by a figure none of them had seen approach.

The majority of the shinobi made a move to go to the aid of the fallen professor, but an enraged, animalistic roar stopped everyone in their tracks. No one, not even the aged examiners, had heard anything like that before. Naruto, however, didn’t need to have heard it before to know who had made it.

“KYUUBI!” he yelled down at the demon, who still held the injured McGonagall in his arms.

 **“Don’t try and stop me, Kit!”** the demon growled in his head. **“Entirely dishonorable! They’ll pay for that!”**

‘No, Kyu!’ Naruto growled mentally. ‘You can’t do anything to them. Take McGonagall to the hospital wing, or so help me, I’ll cage you.’

 **“Only for you, Kit,”** Kyuubi snarled, pulling the woman more securely into his arms and running back to the castle as Hagrid distracted the Ministry officials.

None of the students were going to bed—they were all talking loudly and excitedly at the foot of the stairs about what they had witnessed.

“That evil woman!” gasped Hermione, who seemed to be having difficulty talking due to rage. “Trying to sneak up on Hagrid in the dead of night!”

“She clearly wanted to avoid another scene like Trelawney’s,” said Ernie Macmillan sagely, squeezing over to join them.

“Hagrid did well, didn’t he?” said Ron, who looked more alarmed than impressed. “How come all the spells bounced off him?”

“It’ll be his giant blood,” said Hermione shakily. “It’s very hard to Stun a giant, they’re like trolls, really tough…. But poor Professor McGonagall…. Four Stunners straight in the chest, and she’s not exactly young is she?”

“Dreadful, dreadful,” said Ernie, shaking his head pompously. “What about that scream though, terrifying, eh?”

“Yeah,” Harry said distractedly, his gaze intent on Naruto who seemed deep in thought yet extremely angry at the same time.

“Well, I’m off to bed…” said Ernie. “Night all….”

People around them were drifting away, still talking excitedly about what they had just seen. Harry, Ron, and Hermione made their way over to the shinobi, who were all gathered around Naruto.

“I’ve got to go to the hospital wing,” the blond sighed exasperatedly. “If Kyu continues like this he’s gonna start an all out war with the Ministry of Magic.” He turned to Neji and gave his arm a slight squeeze, “I probably won’t be back till morning.”

“Don’t worry,” the brunet lieutenant shook his head slightly. “We’ll see you in the morning.”

88

Their final exam, History of Magic, was to take place the following afternoon. Naruto returned to the dormitory some time during the morning, not that many of his year mates noticed, as they were all engrossed in studying. Perhaps this was a good thing, as it kept the wizarding students from noticing the bruises on his face and arms and claw marks that had shredded his clothes to almost rags.

The fifth years entered the Great Hall at two o’clock and took their places in front of their overturned examination papers. It was fairly routine, until the end, where Harry fell to the floor, screaming. The raven haired wizard was escorted from the hall by one of the examiners, much to the chagrin of his guards.

The Boy-Who-Lived apparently wasn’t the only one to give his guards the slip after the exam, as shortly after they’d been dismissed, the other teams gathered around Naruto and Gaara, looking frustrated.

“How can we lose four pipsqueaks?” Kankuro threw up his hands in frustration.

“Calm yourself,” the Kazekage said quietly. “We’ll find them. They can’t have gone far.”

888888

 _“Liar!”_ shouted Umbridge. She threw Harry from her, and he slammed into the desk. Now he could see Hermione pinioned against the wall by Millicent Bulstrode. Malfoy was leaning on the windowsill, smirking as he threw Harry’s wand into the air one-handed and then caught it again, though his grey eyes softened apologetically when they met emerald.

There was a commotion outside and several Slytherins entered, each gripping Ron, Ginny, Luna, and—to Harry’s bewilderment—Neville, who was trapped in a stranglehold by Crabbe and looked in imminent danger of suffocation. All four had been gagged.

“Got ‘em all,” said Warrington, shoving Ron roughly forward into the room. “ _That_ one,” he poked a thick finger at Neville, “tried to stop me taking _her_ ,” he pointed at Ginny, who was trying to kick Shikamaru’s shin, though he seemed unconcerned by it, “so I brought him along too.”

“Good, good,” said Umbridge, watching Ginny’s struggles. “Well, it looks as though Hogwarts will shortly be a Weasley-free zone, doesn’t it?”

Malfoy laughed loudly and sycophantically, though to the well trained ear it was more strained than it should have been. Umbridge gave her wide, complacent smile and settled herself into a chintz-covered armchair, blinking up at her captives like a toad in a flowerbed.

“So, Potter,” she said. “You stationed lookouts around my office and you sent this buffoon,” she nodded at Ron, and Malfoy forced out an even louder laugh, “to tell me the poltergeist was wreaking havoc in the Transfiguration department when I knew perfectly well that he was busy smearing ink on the eyepieces of all the school telescopes, Mr. Filch having just informed me so.

“Clearly, it was very important for you to talk to somebody. Was it Albus Dumbledore? Or the half-breed, Hagrid? I doubt it was Minerva McGonagall, I hear she is still too ill to talk to anyone….”

Malfoy and a few other members of the Inquisitorial Squad laughed some more at that, though Shikamaru’s eyes narrowed dangerously. Harry found that he was so full of rage and hatred he was shaking.

“It’s none of your business who I talk to,” he snarled.

Umbridge’s slack face seemed to tighten.

“Very well,” she said in her most dangerous and falsely sweet voice. “Very well, Mr. Potter… I offered you a chance to tell me freely. You refused. I have no alternative but to force you. Draco—fetch Professor Snape.”

Malfoy stowed Harry’s wand inside his robes and left the room smirking, but Harry hardly noticed, knowing it for the act it truly was anyway. He had just realized something; he could not believe he had been so stupid as to forget it. He had thought that all the members of the Order, all those who could help him save Sirius, were gone—but he had been wrong. There was still a member of the Order of the Phoenix at Hogwarts—Snape.

There was silence in the office except for the fidgeting and scuffling resultant from the Slytherins’ efforts to keep Ron and the others under control. Ron’s lip was bleeding onto Umbridge’s carpet as he struggled against Warrington’s half nelson. Ginny was still trying to stamp on the feet of the Shadow ninja who had both her upper arms in his grip. Neville was turning steadily more purple in the face while tugging at Crabbe’s arms, and Hermione was attempting vainly to throw Millicent Bulstrode off her. Luna, however, stood limply by the side of her captor, gazing vaguely out of the window as though rather bored by the proceedings.

Harry looked back at Umbridge, who was watching him closely. He kept his face deliberately smooth and blank as footsteps were heard in the corridor outside and Draco Malfoy entered the room, closely followed by Snape.

“You wanted to see me, Headmistress?” said Snape, looking around at all the pairs of struggling students with an expression of complete indifference.

“Ah, Professor Snape,” said Umbridge, smiling widely and standing up again. “Yes, I would like another bottle of Veritaserum, as quick as you can, please.”

“You took my last bottle to interrogate Potter,” he said, surveying her coolly through his greasy curtains of black hair. “Surely you did not use it all? I told you that three drops would be sufficient.”

Umbridge flushed.

“You can make some more, can’t you?” she said, her voice becoming more sweetly girlish as it always did when she was furious.

“Certainly,” said Snape, his lip curling. “It takes a full moon cycle to mature, so I should have it ready for you in around a month.”

“A month?” squawked Umbridge, swelling toadishly. “A _month_? But I need it this evening, Snape! I have just found Potter using my fire to communicate with a person or persons unknown!”

“Really?” said Snape, showing the first, faint sign of interest as he looked around at Harry. “Well, it doesn’t surprise me. Potter has never shown much inclination to follow school rules.”

His cold, dark eyes were boring into Harry’s, who met his gaze unflinchingly, concentrating hard on what he had seen in his dream, willing Snape to read it in his mind, to understand….

“I wish to interrogate him!” repeated Umbridge angrily, and Snape looked away from Harry back into her furiously quivering face. “I wish you to provide me with a potion that will force him to tell me the truth!”

“I have already told you,” said Snape smoothly, “that I have no further stocks of Veritaserum. Unless you wish to poison Potter—and I assure you I would have the greatest sympathy with you if you did—I cannot help you. The only trouble is that most venoms act too fast to give the victim much time for truth-telling….”

Snape looked back at Harry, who stared at him, frantic to communicate without speaking.

 _‘Voldemort’s got Sirius in the Department of Mysteries,’_ he thought desperately. _‘Voldemort’s got Sirius—’_

“You are on probation!” shrieked Professor Umbridge, and Snape looked back at her, his eyebrows slightly raised. “You are being deliberately unhelpful! I expected better, Lucius Malfoy always speaks most highly of you! Now get out of my office!”

Snape gave her an ironic bow and turned to leave. Harry knew his last chance of letting the Order know what was going on was walking out the door.

“He’s got Padfoot!” he shouted. “He’s got Padfoot at the place where it’s hidden!”

Snape stopped with his hand on Umbridge’s door handle.

“Padfoot?” cried Professor Umbridge, looking eagerly from Harry to Snape. “What is Padfoot? Where what is hidden? What does he mean, Snape?”

Snape looked around at Harry. His face was inscrutable. Harry could not tell whether he had understood or not, but he did not dare speak more plainly in front of Umbridge.

“I have no idea,” said Snape coldly. “Potter, when I want nonsense shouted at me I shall give you a Babbling Beverage. And Crabbe, loosen your hold a little, if Longbottom suffocates it will mean a lot of tedious paperwork, and I am afraid I shall have to mention it on your reference if every you apply for a job.”

He closed the door behind him with a snap, leaving Harry in a state of worse turmoil than before: Snape had been his very last hope. He looked at Umbridge, who seemed to be feeling the same way; her chest was heaving with rage and frustration.

“Very well,” she said, and she pulled out her wand. “Very well… I am left with no alternative…. This is more than a matter of school discipline…. This is an issue of Ministry security…. Yes… yes…”

She seemed to be talking herself into something. She was shifting her weight nervously from foot to foot, staring at Harry, beating her wand against her empty palm and breathing heavily. Harry felt horribly powerless without his own wand as he watched her.

“You are forcing me, Potter…. I do not want to,” said Umbridge, still moving restlessly on the spot, “but sometimes circumstances justify the use… I am sure the Minister will understand that I had no choice….”

Malfoy was watching her with a sort of horrifying fascinated expression on his face. That was his boyfriend… he should do something, but then he wouldn’t be able to help him at all, he’d be no better off than Weasley or Granger. With that in mind, he wanted to turn his head away, to not watch that vile creature decide what fate lay in store for the Boy-Who-Lived, but he couldn’t even do that.

“The Cruciatus Curse ought to loosen your tongue,” said Umbridge quietly.

“No!” shrieked Hermione, covering up Draco’s shocked gasp. “Professor Umbridge—it’s illegal”—but Umbridge took no notice. There was a nasty, eager, excited look on her face that Harry had never seen before. She raised her wand.

“The Minister wouldn’t want you to break the law, Professor Umbridge!” cried Hermione.

“What Cornelius doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” said Umbridge, who was now panting slightly as she pointed her wand at different parts of Harry’s body in turn, apparently trying to decide what would hurt the most. “He never knew I ordered dementors after Potter last summer, but he was delighted to be given the chance to expel him, all the same….”

“It was _you_?” gasped Harry. “ _You_ sent the dementors after me?”

“ _Somebody_ had to act,” breathed Umbridge, as her wand came to rest pointing directly at Harry’s forehead. “They were all bleating about silencing you somehow—discrediting you—but I was the only one who actually _did_ something about it…. Only you wriggled out of that one, didn’t you, Potter? Not today, though, not now…”

And taking a deep breath, she cried, _“Cruc—”_

“NO!” shouted Hermione in a cracked voice from behind Millicent Bulstrode, once again drawing attention away from the blond Slytherin, who had let out a dry sob. “No—Harry—Harry, we’ll have to tell her!”

“No way!” yelled Harry, staring at the little of Hermione he could see.

“We’ll have to, Harry, she’ll force it out of you anyway, what’s… what’s the point…?”

And Hermione began to cry weakly into the back of Millicent Bulstrode’s robes. Millicent stopped trying to squash her against the wall immediately and dodged out of her way looking disgusted.

“Well, well, well!” said Umbridge, looking triumphant. “Little Miss Question-All is going to give us some answers! Come on then, girl, come on!”

“Er—my—nee—no!” shouted Ron through his gag.

Ginny was staring at Hermione as though she had never seen her before; Neville, still choking for breath, was gazing at her too. But Harry had just noticed something. Though Hermione was sobbing desperately into her hands, there was no trace of a tear….

“I’m—I’m sorry everyone,” said Hermione. “But—I can’t stand it—”

“That’s right, that’s right, girl!” said Umbridge, seizing Hermione by the shoulders, thrusting her into the abandoned chintz chair and leaning over her. “Now then… with whom was Potter communicating just now?”

“Well,” gulped Hermione into her hands, “well, he was _trying_ to speak to Professor Dumbledore.”

Ron froze, his eyes wide; Ginny stopped trying to stamp on her Slytherin captor’s toes; said Slytherin was smirking slightly at the lie; even Luna looked mildly surprised. Fortunately, the attention of Umbridge and her minions was focused too exclusively upon Hermione to notice these suspicious signs.

“Dumbledore?” said Umbridge eagerly. “You know where Dumbledore is, then?”

“Well… no!” sobbed Hermione. “We’ve tried the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley and the Three Broomsticks and even the Hog’s Head—”

“Idiot girl, Dumbledore won’t be sitting in a pub when the whole Ministry’s looking for him!” shouted Umbridge, disappointment etched in every sagging line of her face.

“But—but we needed to tell him something important!” wailed Hermione, holding her hands more tightly over her face, not, Harry knew, out of anguish, but to disguise the continued absence of tears.

“Yes?” said Umbridge with a sudden resurgence of excitement. “What was it you wanted to tell him?”

“We… we wanted to tell him it’s r-ready!” choked Hermione.

“What’s ready?” demanded Umbridge, and now she grabbed Hermione’s shoulders again and shook her slightly. “What’s ready, girl?”

“The… the weapon,” said Hermione.

“Weapon? Weapon?” said Umbridge, her eyes seemed to pop with excitement. “You have been developing a method of resistance? A weapon you could use against the Ministry? On Professor Dumbledore’s orders, of course?”

“Y-y-yes,” gasped Hermione. “But he had to leave before it was finished and n-n-now we’ve finished it for him, and we c-c-can’t find him t-t-to tell him!”

“What kind of weapon is it?” said Umbridge harshly, her stubby hands still tight on Hermione’s shoulders.

“We don’t r-r-really understand it,” said Hermione, sniffing loudly. “We j-j-just did what P-P-Professor Dumbledore told us t-t-to do….”

Umbridge straightened up, looking exultant.

“Lead me to the weapon,” she said.

“I’m not showing… _them_ ,” said Hermione shrilly, looking around at the Slytherins through her fingers.

“It is not for you to set conditions,” said Professor Umbridge harshly.

“Fine,” said Hermione, now sobbing into her hands again, “fine… let them see it. I hope they use it on you! In fact, I wish you’d invite loads and loads of people to come and see! Th-that would serve you right—oh, I’d love it if the wh-whole school knew where it was, and how to u-use it, and then if you annoy any of them they’ll be able to s-sort you out!”

These words had a powerful impact on Umbridge. She glanced swiftly and suspiciously around at her Inquisitorial Squad, her bulging eyes resting for a moment on Malfoy, who was too slow to disguise the look of eagerness and excitement that had appeared on his face.

Umbridge contemplated Hermione for another long moment and then spoke in what she clearly thought was a motherly voice, “All right, dear, let’s make it just you and me… and we’ll take Potter, too, shall we? Get up, now—”

“Professor,” said Malfoy eagerly, if he could just convince her to take him along then he could help Harry, “Professor Umbridge, I think some of the squad should come with you to look after—”

“I am a fully qualified Ministry official, Malfoy, do you really think I cannot manage two wandless teenagers alone?” asked Umbridge sharply. “In any case, it does not sound as though this weapon is something that schoolchildren should see. You will remain here until I return and make sure none of these”—she gestured around at Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna—“escape.”

“All right,” said Malfoy, looking sulky and disappointed.

“And you two can go ahead of me and show me the way,” said Umbridge, pointing at Harry and Hermione with her wand. “Lead on….”

As soon as the door closed behind them, Shikamaru dropped Ginny’s arms, moved over to stand in front of the desk, turned to face everyone, and clasped his hands in front of him.

“Pick your jaw up, Draco,” he sighed, “and Stun them already.”

“What?!” in his indignation, Ron managed to spit the gag out of his mouth. “You can’t do that!”

“This is such a drag,” the Shadow nin shook his head, so did all the other Slytherins in the room, apart from Malfoy. “Stun them now, I can’t hold this jutsu forever.”

“Oh,” the blond’s eyes widened slightly in realization before he pulled his wand and Stunned Warrington, thus freeing Ron. The other Slytherins looked shocked and confused, and a little outraged, but none of them made a move to stop either of them. It didn’t take long for the others to be free as well, and Malfoy to hand back their wands.

“You saw nothing, Longbottom,” Draco glared menacingly at the round faced boy, who nodded fearfully.

“Now that that’s out of the way,” Shikamaru leaned back on the desk, pulling out his trusty pack of cigarettes, “you four should be going. Oh, and Ron,” he reached into the top drawer of the desk and withdrew a roll of parchment, “take that with you.”


	25. Battle in the Department of Mysteries

Chapter 25: Battle in the Department of Mysteries

 

“It’s time you learned the difference between life and dreams, Potter,” said the elder Malfoy. “Now give me the prophecy, or we start using wands.”

“Go on, then,” said Harry, raising his own wand to chest height. As he did so, the five wands of Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, and Luna rose on either side of him. Hermione’s eyes, however, were drawn to a flash of white in Ron’s pocket. She squinted at in the wandlight, trying to decipher the words scrawled across the top of the page in what looked like her own handwriting.

“Hand over the prophecy and no one need get hurt,” said Malfoy coolly.

It was Harry’s turn to laugh.

“Yeah, right!” he said. “I give you this—prophecy, is it? And you’ll let us skip on home, will you?”

The words were hardly out of his mouth when the female Death Eater shrieked, _“Accio Proph—”_

Harry was just ready for her. He shouted _“Protego!”_ before she had finished her spell, and though the glass sphere slipped to the tips of his fingers he managed to cling on to it.

“Oh, he knows how to play, little bitty baby Potter,” she said, her mad eyes staring through the slits in her hood. “Very well, then—”

“I TOLD YOU, NO!” Lucius Malfoy roared at the woman. “If you smash it—!”

Harry’s mind was racing. The Death Eaters wanted this dusty spun-glass sphere. He had no interest in it. He just wanted to get them all out of this alive, make sure that none of his friends paid a terrible price for his stupidity…

The woman stepped forward, away from her fellows, and pulled off her hood. Azkaban had hollowed Bellatrix Lestrange’s face, making it gaunt and skull-like, but it was alive with a feverish, fanatical glow.

“You need more persuasion?” she said, her chest rising and falling rapidly. “Very well—take the smallest one,” she ordered the Death Eaters beside her. “Let him watch while we torture the little girl. I’ll do it.”

Harry felt the others close in around Ginny. He stepped sideways so that he was right in front of her, the prophecy held up to his chest.

Hermione was still giving the parchment in Ron’s pocket half of her attention, not sure why he had Dumbledore’s Army’s name list, for she had finally realized what it was. It was as she shifted and her arm brushed Ginny’s hair, dislodging a strange little beetle, that she realized what this meant. She smacked her forehead, and then reached into Ron’s pocket, pulling out the paper. The Death Eaters closest to her looked on in confusion.

“You’ll have to smash this if you want to attack any of us,” he told Bellatrix. “I don’t think your boss will be too pleased if you come back without it, will he?”

She did not move; she merely stared at him, the tip of her tongue moistening her thin mouth.

“Keep them distracted, Harry,” Hermione hissed in his ear, fishing around inside his pocket, finally pulling out the handle of his pocket knife.

“So,” said Harry, “what kind of prophecy are we talking about anyway?”

He could not think what to do but to keep talking. Neville’s arm was pressed against his, and he could feel him shaking. He could feel one of the other’s quickened breath on the back of his head. He knew Hermione had a plan, he just hoped it was a good one.

“What kind of prophecy?” repeated Bellatrix, the grin fading from her face. “You jest, Harry Potter.”

“Nope, not jesting,” said Harry, his eyes flicking from Death Eater to Death Eater, looking for a weak link, a space through which they could escape. “How come Voldemort wants it?”

Several of the Death Eaters let out low hisses.

“You dare speak his name?” whispered Bellatrix.

“Yeah,” said Harry, maintaining his tight grip on the glass ball, expecting another attempt to bewitch it from him. “Yeah, I’ve got no problem saying Vol—”

“Shut your mouth!” Bellatrix shrieked. “You dare speak his name with your unworthy lips, you dare besmirch it with your half-blood’s tongue, you dare—”

“Did you know he’s a half-blood too?” said Harry recklessly. He could hear Hermione shuffling around behind him, she must be about ready to activate her plan. “Voldemort? Yeah, his mother was a witch but his dad was a Muggle—or has he been telling you lot he’s pureblood?”

_“STUPEF—”_

_“NO!”_

A jet of red light had shot from the end of Bellatrix Lestrange’s wand, but Malfoy had deflected it. His spell caused hers to hit the shelf a foot to the left of Harry and several of the glass orbs there shattered.

In the resulting chaos, Harry just barely heard Hermione begin talking very rapidly under her breath.

“Shino, Sakura, Neji, Kiba,” she was barely taking time to breathe, “Gaara, Kankuro, Temari, Naruto!”

Nothing seemed to be happening so Harry continued talking.

“You haven’t told me what’s so special about this prophecy I’m supposed to be handing over,” he said, praying for time.

Behind him, Hermione was getting frustrated. What was she doing wrong? They said to mix the blood, which she’d done, thus the taking of Harry’s knife, and call. Hadn’t she just done that? Maybe she needed full names?

As Harry continued talking with Bellatrix and Lucius, she repeated the names quietly, this time adding the last names. When that didn’t work, she tried doing them backward, or Japanese style, but still nothing happened.

“Why isn’t this working?!” she said angrily. “It’s not like it’s one of their summoning jutsus. Those require…”

Before she could continue her rant, eight consecutive POOFs of smoke appeared in front of her. Their guards had arrived, just as Harry had the brilliant idea to smash some of the shelves.

“Idiots!” Naruto yelled, falling into a defensive crouch between the students and the Death Eaters. “What the fuck is your problem? We were hired to protect you! Don’t go running off on us like that again!”

“Oh, look,” Bellatrix crooned, “they brought more little babies to play.”

“Run,” Gaara said calmly as a wall of sand rose between them and the Death Eaters.

Harry found the way ahead clear and saw Ron, Ginny, and Luna sprint past him, their arms over their heads. Something heavy struck him on the side of the face but he merely ducked his head and sprinted onward; a hand caught him by the shoulder; he heard Hermione shout _“Stupefy!”_ and the hand released him at once.

They were at the end of row ninety-seven; Harry turned right and began to sprint in earnest. He could hear footsteps right behind him and Hermione’s voice urging Neville on, followed by a squeal of fright but he didn’t dare turn to look. The door through which they had come was ajar straight ahead, Harry could see the glittering light of the bell jar, he pelted through it, the prophecy still clutched tight and safe in his hand, waited for the others to hurtle over the threshold before slamming the door behind them—

 _“Colloportus!”_ gasped Hermione and the door sealed itself with an odd squelching noise.

“Where—where are the others?” gasped Harry.

He had thought that Ron, Luna, and Ginny had been ahead of them, that they would be waiting in this room, but there was nobody there.

“They must have gone the wrong way!” whispered Hermione, terror in her face.

“They’ll be fine,” a calm, arrogant voice said to their left. “Kankuro’s with them.”

“As are Neji, Shino, and Kiba,” Naruto shrugged, glaring slightly at the blonde kunoichi, and setting Neville back on his feet. “We should get out of here. Gaara will catch up when he can.”

Before anyone could say or do anything else, however, the blond was at Harry’s side and smacked him across the head. Green eyes widened in shock.

“What the hell was that for?” he asked, outraged.

“For making us worry about you,” Naruto glared, and then pulled him into a tight hug. “Now, let’s go catch up with the others.”

888888

They crept out of the office and back toward the door into the black hallway, which was now completely deserted. They walked a few steps forward, Neville tottering slightly due to Hermione’s weight. The shinobi would’ve helped with the downed witch but Temari was guarding their retreat with Sakura while Naruto took point. The door of the Time Room swung shut behind them and the walls began to rotate once more. The recent blow on the back of Harry’s head seemed to have unsteadied him; he narrowed his eyes, swaying slightly, until the walls stopped moving again. With a sinking heart Harry saw that Hermione’s fiery crosses had faded from the doors.

“So which way d’you reck—?”

But before they could make a decision as to which way to try, a door to their right sprang open and seven people fell out of it. Seven kunai flew before they’re owners registered whether friend or foe. Luckily none of them were aimed to kill, just to distract.

“Ron!” croaked Harry, dashing around Naruto toward them. “Ginny—are you all—?”

“Harry,” said Ron, giggling weakly, lurching forward out of Neji’s grasp, seizing the front of Harry’s robes and gazing at him with unfocused eyes. “There you are…. Ha ha ha… You look funny, Harry…. You’re all messed up….”

Ron’s face was very white and something dark was trickling from the corner of his mouth.

As the wizards continued to talk, the shinobi gathered around and had a very quiet conversation in their native tongue.

“Status?” Naruto looked at his teammates.

“None of us are injured,” Kiba sighed. “Though Ginny broke her ankle when a Death Eater grabbed her.”

“I’ll take a look at her when we reach a secure location,” Sakura shook her head. “Hermione’s down as well, and Neville would benefit from some medical attention as well.”

“Ron’s in bad shape,” Neji looked over at the redhead, who was still talking to Harry. “Whatever they did to him was a silent spell, we didn’t even know he’d been hit until he started acting strange.”

“It’s not your fault,” Naruto ran his hand through his hair, and they weren’t sure if he was telling that to them or himself. “We’re dealing with things we don’t really understand. But we’ll do better now. We’re together now.”

“Hey, where’s Gaara?” Kankuro frowned, looking around at both assembled groups.

“We assumed he was with you,” Temari’s eyes widened.

“Focus, you two,” the blond kitsune vessel sent a glare at them. “We’ll get him back. Right now, though, we have a mission to complete.”

“Hai,” the two siblings grudgingly nodded.

They turned around just as Harry heaved Ron toward a door. The shinobi fell in around the wizards, acting as rear guard. They were within a few feet of it when another door across the hall burst open and three Death Eaters sped into the hall, led by Bellatrix Lestrange.

 _“There they are!”_ she shrieked.

Stunning Spells shot across the room: Harry smashed his way through the door ahead, flung Ron unceremoniously from him, and ducked back to help Neville in with Hermione. They were all over the threshold just in time to slam the door against Bellatrix.

 _“Colloportus!”_ shouted Harry, and he heard three bodies slam into the door on the other side.

Sakura made her way over to Ginny first, a broken ankle she could set right in a snap. Shino relieved Neville of Hermione and took her over to the medic as well. Kiba was trying to herd Ron over as well, but with minimal success.

They were all distracted when they heard Luna cry, _“Collo-aaaaaaaaargh…”_

They turned in time to see her flying through the air. The shinobi jumped out of the way, all of them ending up on the ceiling as five Death Eaters were surging into the room through the door she had not reached in time; Luna hit a desk, slid over its surface and onto the floor on the other side where she lay sprawled, as still as Hermione.

“We need to get down there!” Naruto hissed so only the shinobi could hear him.

“No,” Shino’s quiet voice stopped all of them from moving. “Our interference now will only result in more injuries, and possibly deaths, we wait.”

“Goddamn it, Shino,” the blond huffed. “I hate it when you’re right.”

“Get Potter!” shrieked Bellatrix, and she ran at him, he dodged her and sprinted back up the room, he was safe as long as they thought they might hit the prophecy—

“Hey!” said Ron, who had staggered to his feet and was now tottering drunkenly towards Harry, giggling. “Hey, Harry, there are _brains_ in here, ha ha ha, isn’t that weird, Harry?”

“Ron, get out of the way, get down—”

But Ron had already pointed his wand at the tank.

“Honest, Harry, they’re brains—look— _Accio brain!”_

The scene seemed momentarily frozen. Harry, Ginny and Neville and each of the Death Eaters turned in spite of themselves to watch the top of the tank as a brain burst from the green liquid like a leaping fish: for a moment it seemed suspended in midair, then it soared towards Ron, spinning as it came, and what looked like ribbons of moving images flew from it, unraveling like rolls of film—

“Ha ha ha, Harry, look at it—” said Ron, watching it disgorge its gaudy innards. “Harry, come and touch it; bet it’s weird—”

“RON, NO!”

Harry did not know what would happen if Ron touched the tentacles of though now flying behind the brain, but he was sure it would not be anything good. He darted forwards but Ron had already caught the brain in his outstretched hands.

The moment they made contact with his skin, the tentacles began wrapping themselves around Ron’s arms like ropes.

“Harry, look what’s happen—no—no—I don’t like it—no, stop— _stop_ —”

But the thin ribbons were spinning around Ron’s chest now, he tugged and tore at them as the brain was pulled tight against him like an octopus’s body.

 _“Diffindo!”_ yelled Harry, trying to sever the feelers wrapping themselves tightly around Ron before his eyes, but they would not break. Ron fell over, still thrashing against his bonds.

“Harry, it’ll suffocate him!” screamed Ginny, immobilized by her broken ankle on the floor—then a jet of red light flew from one of the Death Eater’s wands and hit her squarely in the face. She keeled over sideways and lay there unconscious.

 _“STUBEFY!”_ shouted Neville, wheeling around and waving Hermione’s wand at the oncoming Death Eaters, _“STUBEFY, STUBEFY!”_

But nothing happened.

One of the Death Eaters shot their own Stunning Spell at Neville; it missed him by inches. Harry and Neville were now the only two left fighting the five Death Eaters, two of whom sent off streams of silver light like arrows which missed by left craters in the wall behind them. Harry ran for it as Bellatrix Lestrange raced right at him: holding the prophecy high above his head, he sprinted back up the room; all he could think of doing was to draw the Death Eaters away from the others.

It seemed to have worked; they streaked after him, knocking chairs and tables flying but not daring to bewitch him in case they hurt the prophecy, and he dashed through the only door still open, the one through which the Death Eaters themselves had come; inwardly praying that Neville would stay with Ron and find some way of releasing him.

As soon as Harry and the Death Eaters were gone, the shinobi released the chakra from their feet and landed gracefully on the floor. They gathered around Ron, who was still struggling with the brain.

“Don’t touch it!” Sakura barked. “Neji, try and knock it out using your gentle fist. If that doesn’t work, I’ll remove it with my chakra scalpel, but that’s exceedingly risky with a moving object.”

Neji nodded and concentrated his chakra to his hand. He activated his Byakugan and quickly located the points that would take out the brain. He raised his hand and hit each one in rapid succession. The brain fell to the ground and released the redhead from its grip.

While Sakura and Neji were doing that, Naruto had been giving instructions to the others.

“Shino, Kiba, you’re with me, we’re going after Harry,” he barked, looking at his two subordinates, who nodded. “Kankuro, Temari, go find Gaara.” The two siblings nodded, relieved looks on their faces. “Neji,” he turned to his boyfriend, who had just finished the task Sakura had given him, “you’re with us. Sakura, I’m trusting you to handle things in here.”

The pinkette nodded and they all dispersed to their designated tasks.

88

Harry was falling down steep stone step after steep stone step, bouncing on every tier until at last, with a crash that knocked all the breath out of his body, he landed flat on his back in the sunken pit where the stone archway stood on its dais. The whole room was ringing with the Death Eater’s laughter: he looked up and saw the five who had been in the Brain Room descending toward him, while as many more emerged through other doorways and began leaping from bench to bench towards him. Harry got to his feet though his legs were trembling so badly they barely supported him: the prophecy was still miraculously unbroken in his left hand, his wand clutched tightly in his right. He backed away, looking around, trying to keep all the Death Eaters within his sight. The back of his legs hit something solid: he had reached the dais where the archway stood. He climbed backwards onto it.

The Death Eaters all halted, gazing at him. Some were panting as hard as he was. One was bleeding badly; Dolohov, freed of the Body-Bind Curse, was leering, his wand pointing straight at Harry’s face.

“Potter, your race is run,” drawled Lucius Malfoy, pulling off his mask, “now hand me the prophecy like a good boy.”

“Let—let the others go, and I’ll give it to you!” said Harry desperately.

A few of the Death Eaters laughed.

“You are not in a position to bargain, Potter,” said Lucius Malfoy, his pale face flushed with pleasure. “You see, there are ten of us and only one of you… or hasn’t Dumbledore ever taught you how to count? You’re friend’s little parlor trick in the Hall of Prophecy didn’t help you at all, did it?”

“He’s dot alone!” shouted a voice from above them. “He’s still god be!”

Harry’s heart sank: Neville was scrambling down the stone benches towards them, Hermione’s wand held fast in his trembling hand.

“Neville—no—go back to Ron—”

 _“STUBEFY!”_ Neville shouted again, pointing his wand at each Death Eater in turn. _“STUBEFY! STUBE—”_

One of the largest Death Eaters seized Neville from behind, pinioning his arms to his sides. He struggled and kicked, several of the Death Eaters laughed.

“It’s Longbottom, isn’t it?” sneered Lucius Malfoy. “Well, your grandmother is used to losing family members to our cause… your death will not come as a great shock.”

“Longbottom?” repeated Bellatrix, and a truly evil smile lit her gaunt face. “Why, I have had the pleasure of meeting your parents, boy.”

“I DOE YOU HAB!” roared Neville, and he fought so hard against his captor’s encircling grip that the Death Eater shouted, “Someone Stun him!”

“No, no, no,” said Bellatrix. She looked transported, alive with excitement as she glanced at Harry, then back at Neville. “No, let’s see how long Longbottom lasts before he cracks like his parents… unless Potter wants to give us the prophecy.”

“DON’D GIB ID DO DEM!” roared Neville, who seemed beside himself, kicking and writhing as Bellatrix drew nearer to him and his captor, her wand raised. “DON’D GIB ID DO DEM, HARRY!”

Bellatrix raised her wand. _“Crucio!”_

Neville screamed, his legs drawn up to his chest so that the Death Eater holding him was momentarily holding him off the ground. The Death Eater dropped him and he fell to the floor, twitching and screaming in agony.

At that moment, a black swirling shield seemed to appear out of thin air, obscuring the two boys and breaking Bellatrix’s spell. The wizards looked around, trying to pinpoint the cause of the strange apparition. At the top of the stairs, one of the boys that had appeared in the Hall of Prophecy was standing with his hands outstretched and the same swirling cloud coming out of each sleeve.

“ARF!”

They whirled around, two meters to the left was another of the boys, only this one was riding a huge white dog with brown eyes. They continued looking, another two meters was another with long black hair in a low ponytail. And around again, to two more figures standing side by side, a tall redhead with fiery yellow eyes, and a blond with red eyes that almost matched their master’s.

“Why don’t cha pick on somebody your own size?” the blond gave a feral grin.

“Oh, the new little babies want to join in the fun,” Bellatrix smiled back. “We have time to play.”

She started up the stairs toward Naruto, two of her fellow Death Eaters following. The others split up in pairs and began advancing on the other teens, leaving Lucius with the two Hogwarts students, who were still surrounded by the swirling clouds.

The opponents stared at each other, almost as if they could read their next actions in their eyes. Almost as one, they attacked. Spells flew as the shinobi dodged and countered as best they could without bringing out the big guns. Harry and Neville didn’t know where to look, in every direction there seemed to be a flurry of activity. Their shields weren’t very conductive to watching and after a few minutes, Neville figured out why.

“Dey’re bugs!” he said loudly over the sounds of the combatants. “Where’d dey comb from?”

Harry didn’t have time to contemplate this as a high-pitched scream rent the air. The shields disappeared as the bugs flew off toward their host. He could now see Shino clearly. The bug shinobi was lying on the ground with Mulciber’s wand pointed at him. He was writhing and screaming in agony.

“NOOOOOOO!” an almost feral scream sounded before Mulciber was forcibly thrown into the wall as the canine ninja went to the aid of his lover.

“WATCH OUT!” Harry screamed, but it was too late, the red jet of light hit Kiba in the back just as he reached Shino’s side.

The bug ninja regained his feet and called his bugs to him. The swirling black cloud descending on him before he pushed out his hands and sent them toward the Death Eater who had dared attack what was his. Crabbe screamed in agony as the bugs attacked. It didn’t last long, however, as Dolohov sent a spell at Shino that knocked him out cold next to his lover, just as Macnair sent Akamaru flying toward the dais, where the dog lay still.

“You fucking bastards!” Naruto screamed, Kyuubi leaning down and forming the chakra into a ball in his hand. He lunged at the nearest Death Eater to him, hand extended, and sent them flying.

Then, two more doors burst open and seven more people sprinted into the room: Sirius, Lupin, Moody, Tonks, and Kingsley, as well as Kakashi and Iruka.

The Death Eaters moved to take on the new threat. Naruto wasn’t about to let them go without a fight, but Kyuubi wrapped his arms around his kit’s waist and pulled him back.

“Now now,” he growled in his ear. “Let them handle it. Take care of your teammates.”

The blond fell limp in his arms and nodded. The demon let him go and Naruto sprinted over to where Shino and Kiba were lying. He quickly felt for a pulse and let out a breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding when he found one. Neji was at his side a moment later, carrying Akamaru around his shoulders.

“We need to get them out of here,” he placed a hand on his captain’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” Naruto nodded, easily placing both of them on his back. “Let’s get them to Sakura.”

Iruka was at their side before they had taken a step and relieved the blond of Shino’s limp form. He gave a crooked smile to the two teens, who nodded in return. The trio made their way back to the Brain Room, where the others were waiting.

Inside, Sakura was busily working on Ron, who had passed out at some point. Ginny’s ankle was bandaged, as was Hermione’s torso. Luna was sitting up, but she still looked a bit dazed. But it was the other three people in the room that caused the shinobi to breathe a sigh of relief. Temari and Kankuro were sitting off to the side, Gaara between them, leaning heavily on his brother’s shoulder, but still alive. Jade met cerulean and a relieved smile passed briefly across the redhead’s face. They nodded in understanding, no words needed.

A moment later, Dumbledore appeared in the room. He glanced in the shinobi’s direction and gave them a curt nod, alerting them to a job well done. He then went to the door.

Dumbledore sped down the steps past Neville and Harry, who had no more thought of leaving. Dumbledore was already at the foot of the steps when the Death Eaters nearest realized he was there. There were yells; one of the Death Eaters ran for it, scrambling like a monkey up the stone steps opposite. Dumbledore’s spell pulled him back as easily and effortlessly as though he had hooked him with an invisible line—

Only one couple were still battling, apparently unaware of the new arrival. Harry saw Sirius duck Bellatrix’s jet of red light. He was laughing at her. “Come on, you can do better than that!” he yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room.

The second jet of light hit him squarely on the chest, just as a red streak whooshed past Harry and Neville.

The laughter had not quite died from his face, but his eyes widened in shock.

Harry released Neville, though he was unaware of doing so. He was jumping down the steps again, following the streak, pulling out his wand, as Dumbledore turned to the dais too.

It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall. His body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backward toward the ragged veil hanging from the arch…

And Harry saw the look of mingled fear and surprise on his godfather’s wasted, once-handsome face as the red streak met him and he fell through the ancient doorway and disappeared behind the veil, which fluttered for a moment as though in a high wind and then fell back into place.

Harry heard Bellatrix Lestrange’s triumphant scream, but knew it meant nothing—Sirius had only just fallen through the archway, he would reappear from the other side any second….

But Sirius did not reappear.

“SIRIUS!” Harry yelled, “SIRIUS!”

He had reached the floor, his breath coming in searing gasps. Sirius must be just behind the curtain, he, Harry, would pull him back out again….

But as he reached the ground and sprinted toward the dais, Lupin grabbed Harry around the chest, holding him back.

“There’s nothing you can do, Harry—” silent tears were running down the werewolf’s face.

“Get him, save him, he’s only just gone through!”

“It’s too late, Harry—” a sob left his throat.

“We can still save him—”

Harry struggled hard and viciously, but Lupin would not let go…. He didn’t understand, that was Remus’ lover that he was trying to save, why was he stopping him….

“There’s nothing you can do, Harry… nothing…. He’s gone.”


	26. The Time for Parting

Chapter 26: The Time for Parting

 

**‘He Who Must Not Be Named Returns**

In a brief statement Friday night, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge confirmed that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned to this country and is active once more.

“It is with great regret that I must confirm that the wizard styling himself Lord—well, you know who I mean—is alive and among us again,” said Fudge, looking tired and flustered as he addressed reporters. “It is with almost equal regret that we report the mass revolt of the dementors of Azkaban, who have shown themselves averse to continuing in the Ministry’s employ. We believe that the dementors are currently taking direction from Lord—Thingy.

“We urge the magical population to remain vigilant. The Ministry is currently publishing guides to elementary home and personal defense that will be delivered free to all Wizarding homes within the coming month.

The Minister’s statement was met with dismay and alarm from the Wizarding community, which as recently as last Wednesday was receiving Ministry assurances that there was “no truth whatsoever in these persistent rumors that You-Know-Who is operating amongst us once more.”

Details of the events that led to the Ministry turnaround are still hazy, though it is believed that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and a select band of followers (known as Death Eaters) gained entry to the Ministry of Magic itself on Thursday evening.

Albus Dumbledore, newly reinstated headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, reinstated member of the International Confederation of Wizards, and reinstated Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, was unavailable for comment last night. He has insisted for a year that You-Know-Who was not dead, as widely hoped and believed, but recruiting followers once more for a fresh attempt to seize power. Meanwhile the Boy Who Lived—

“There you are, Harry, I knew they’d drag you into it somehow,” said Hermione, looking over the top of the paper at him.

They were in the hospital wing. Harry was sitting at the end of Ron’s bed and they were both listening to Hermione read the front page of the _Sunday Prophet_. Ginny whose ankle had been mended in a trice by Madam Pomfrey, was curled up at the foot of Hermione’s bed; Neville, whose nose had likewise been returned to its normal size and shape, was in a chair between the two beds; and Luna, who had dropped in to visit clutching the latest edition of _The Quibbler_ , was reading the magazine upside down and apparently not taking in a word Hermione was saying.

“He’s ‘the Boy Who Lived’ again now, though, isn’t he!” said Ron darkly. “Not such a show-off maniac anymore, eh?”

He helped himself to a handful of Chocolate Frogs from the immense pile on his bedside cabinet, threw a few to Harry, Ginny, and Neville, and ripped off the wrapper of his own with his teeth. There were still deep welts on his forearms where the brain’s tentacles had wrapped around him. According to Madam Pomfrey, thoughts could leave deeper scarring than almost anything else, though since she had started applying copious amounts of Dr. Ubbly’s Oblivious Unction, and Sakura’s continued visits, there seemed to be some improvement.

The pink haired kunoichi had been the only one to visit them so far and then she was clinical and distant, leaving almost immediately afterward. The other shinobi had been around, but Harry realized that their job of watching them must be over, as they were no longer tailing him constantly, and they hardly spoke to anyone, let alone their former charges.

“Yes, they’re very complimentary about you now, Harry,” said Hermione, now scanning down the article. _“‘A lone voice of truth… perceived as unbalanced, yet never wavered in his story… forced to bear ridicule and slander…’_ Hmmm,” said Hermione, frowning, “I notice they don’t mention the fact that it was them doing all the ridiculing and slandering, though….”

She winced slightly and put a hand to her ribs. The curse Dolohov had used on her, though less effective than it would have been had he been able to say the incantation aloud, had nevertheless caused, in Madam Pomfrey’s words, “quite enough damage to be going on with.” Hermione was having to take ten different types of potion every day and although she was improving greatly, was already bored with the hospital wing.

 _“‘You-Know-Who’s Last Attempt to Take Over, pages two to four, What the Ministry Should Have Told Us, page five, Why Nobody Listened to Albus Dumbledore, pages six to eight, Exclusive Interview with Harry Potter, page nine…’_ Well,” said Hermione, folding up the newspaper and throwing it aside, “it’s certainly given them lots to write about. And that interview with Harry isn’t exclusive, it’s the one that was in _The Quibbler_ months ago….”

88

The castle seemed very quiet even for a Sunday. Everybody was clearly out in the sunny grounds, enjoying the end of their exams and the prospect of a last few days of term unhampered by studying or homework. Harry walked slowly along the deserted corridor, peering out of windows as he went. He could see people messing around in the air over the Quidditch pitch and a couple of students swimming in the lake, accompanied by the giant squid.

He was finding it hard at the moment to decide whether he wanted to be with people or not. Whenever he was in company he wanted to get away, and whenever he was alone he wanted company. He thought he might really go and visit Hagrid, though; he had not talked to him properly since he had returned….

Harry had just descended the last marble step into the entrance hall when Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle emerged from a door on the right that Harry knew led down to the Slytherin common room. Harry stopped dead; so did Malfoy and the others. For a few moments, the only sounds were the shouts, laughter, and splashes drifting into the hall from the grounds through the open front doors.

This was the first time, since before the Ministry, that Harry had seen the blond. He desperately wished the two gorillas on either side of him would just disappear. He wanted to talk with his boyfriend, if he could still call him that. Would Draco forgive him for sending his father to prison? He didn’t know.

Grey eyes drank in the sight of the Boy Who Lived. He was so glad that he was okay, but at the moment, the Gryffindor looked like shit. He was frustrated that Crabbe and Goyle hadn’t left his side since they’d heard about their father’s arrest, he had told them to head outside, but they wouldn’t leave him. He glanced around, he could risk it and talk plainly with his boyfriend and tell the other two oafs at his side that it was all in their head, but there was the off chance that they could be overheard.

He looked back at Harry and said in a low voice, to keep up pretenses, “You’re dead, Potter.”

Harry raised his eyebrows, apparently he wasn’t forgiven. “Funny,” he said, “you’d think I’d have stopped walking around….”

Malfoy looked angrier than Harry had ever seen him, but in truth he was frustrated. Couldn’t that idiot he called his boyfriend tell he was acting?

“You’re going to pay,” said Malfoy in a voice barely louder than a whisper, desperate now for Harry to believe his insincerity in the statements. “ _I’m_ going to make you pay for what you’ve done to my father….”

“Well, I’m terrified now,” said Harry sarcastically. “I s’pose Lord Voldemort’s just a warm-up act compared to you three—what’s the matter?” he said, for Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had all looked stricken at the sound of the name. “He’s your dad’s mate, isn’t he? Not scared of him, are you?”

“You think you’re such a big man, Potter,” said Malfoy, advancing now, Crabbe and Goyle flanking him, not that that’s what he’d wanted. “You wait. I’ll have you,” he almost laughed at the innuendo in that statement. “You can’t land my father in prison—”

“I thought I just had,” said Harry.

“The dementors have left Azkaban,” said Malfoy quietly, more as a warning than a threat. “Dad and the others’ll be out in no time….”

“Yeah, I expect they will,” said Harry. “Still, at least everyone knows that scumbags they are now—”

Malfoy’s hand flew toward his wand, he wanted, no needed Crabbe and Goyle gone so he could knock some sense into the teen in front of him, but Harry was too quick for him. He had drawn his own wand before Malfoy’s fingers had even entered the pocket of his robes.

“Potter!”

88

Ron and Hermione left the hospital wing completely cured three days before the end of term. Hermione kept showing signs of wanting to talk about Sirius, but Ron tended to make hushing noises every time she mentioned his name. Harry was still not sure whether or not he wanted to talk about his godfather yet; his wishes varied with his mood. He knew one thing, though: unhappy as he felt at the moment, he would greatly miss Hogwarts in a few days’ time when he was back at number four, Privet Drive. Even though he now understood exactly why he had to return there every summer, he did not feel any better about it. Indeed, he had never dreaded his return more.

Professor Umbridge left Hogwarts the day before the end of term. It seemed she had crept out of the hospital wing during lunchtime, evidently hoping to depart undetected, but unfortunately for her, she met Peeves on the way, who seized his last chance to do as Fred instructed, and chased her gleefully from the premises whacking her alternately with a walking stick and a sock full of chalk. Many students ran out into the entrance hall to watch her running away down the path and the Heads of Houses tried only half-heartedly to restrain them. Indeed, Professor McGonagall sank back into her chair at the staff table after a few feeble remonstrances and was clearly heard to express a regret that she could not run cheering after Umbridge herself, because Peeves had borrowed her walking stick.

Their last evening at school arrived; most people had finished packing and were already heading down to the end-of-term leaving feast, but Harry had not even started.

“Just do it tomorrow!” said Ron, who was waiting by the door of their dormitory. “Come on, I’m starving.”

“I won’t be long… look, you go ahead…”

88

Harry walked slowly and miserably back up through the empty castle, wondering whether he would ever feel cheerful again. He wasn’t really paying attention to where he was going, but he did notice when a hand shot out and pulled him into an empty classroom.

He didn’t even have time to struggle or go for his wand before he found himself pinned to the wall with his hands above his head. A mouth descended on his and he found himself in a fiery kiss that, once completed, left him breathless.

“Do I have your attention now, Harry?” his assailant whispered in his ear. “Cause if not, I would gladly do that again.”

“What do you want, Malfoy?” he couldn’t bring himself to look at the Slytherin.

“Oh, so it’s Malfoy now, is it?” Draco stepped away, freeing the raven haired teen from the wall. “What happened? Why are you avoiding me?”

“Me?” green eyes rose and flashed with a fire that hadn’t been seen in them since the Department of Mysteries. “You’re the one who’s mad at me, remember?”

“Dear god, Harry, you’re such an idiot at times,” he ran his hand through his hair. “I’m not mad at you. I was, am fucking worried about you! Back in the entrance hall the other day was all for show because of those two fucking buffoons wouldn’t leave me alone for one fucking minute! The only reason I’m alone now is because there’s fucking food in the Great Hall!”

“I’m sorry,” Harry bowed his head, Draco was right, he was an idiot. “I figured you’d be mad at me for sending your father to Azkaban.”

“Like hell I am!” Draco went over and pulled the smaller teen into his arms. “I wanted to ring Dad’s neck when I heard he was involved in all this. Harry, you could’ve been hurt, or killed. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

The Gryffindor wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, grateful that he hadn’t abandoned him. Draco sighed and smoothed the raven locks with the hand that wasn’t holding Harry close. He placed a kiss on Harry’s forehead and pulled back just a bit.

“I also heard about your godfather,” he said quietly. “Want to talk about it?”

And for the first time, Harry wasn’t torn about it. He actually wanted to talk with Draco about it. He nodded slightly, and Draco led him over to the wall, sinking down to the floor and pulling him into his lap. It was almost as if a floodgate had opened and Harry couldn’t stop talking. He told the Slytherin everything, from his tears and grief, to the prophecy that Voldemort didn’t know.

“It doesn’t matter, Harry,” Draco said when he’d finally run himself out. “In the end, win, lose, or draw, I’ll always be with you. And you know Ron and Hermione will as well. As well as Longbottom, Ginny, and Lovegood, apparently. We’re all with you, Harry, no matter what.”

Harry nodded and gave the blond a small smile. It was nice to hear him say that.

“Now,” he slowly maneuvered them to a standing position, “we should get back before someone actually misses us. I’ll see you around, Harry, I promise.”

With a last, lingering kiss, the Slytherin disappeared. Harry sighed and then continued on his original route back up to the Gryffindor common room.

He had turned the corner toward the Fat Lady’s corridor when he saw somebody up ahead fastening a note to a board on the wall.

888888

When the feast was over, Ron returned to the dormitory and handed a note to Harry. Confused, Harry took it and quickly read through it. He looked up at his best friend in confusion.

“Don’t ask me, mate,” the redhead shrugged. “I got one too, as did Hermione and Ginny. We’re all to go up to the headmaster’s office.”

Harry tossed a couple more stray items in his trunk and snapped it closed before following Ron down the stairs. They met the girls in the common room and together the four of them headed off through the portrait hole and off to the headmaster’s office. In what seemed like no time at all they were standing outside the gargoyle. Harry said a few words in Japanese and the gargoyle sprang aside.

“Naruto did that when he brought me here before Christmas,” he explained as they all stepped onto the revolving staircase.

The others merely nodded and followed him up to the office at the top. There Harry knocked and was bid entrance. They stopped inside but stopped almost immediately at the sight of the eleven individuals already in the office apart from the owner of said office.

“Please come in and have a seat,” Dumbledore said from behind his desk, conjuring them some chairs.

“What’s going on, sir?” Harry asked, confused.

Naruto pushed off the wall and took a few steps forward. He gave the four wizarding students a rather sheepish look.

“Well,” he scratched his neck nervously, “this is it. We have to go home now.”

“Mission’s over, right?” Hermione shook her head.

“Yeah,” Kiba chuckled slightly. “But if it’s any consolation, we had a blast.”

“Where’s your other teacher?” Ginny asked, looking around at them all, apparently not paying much attention to the conversation at hand. “The one with the mask?”

“He’s already returned home,” Iruka smiled sadly. “He had to see our Hokage, for urgent medical attention, and returned immediately after the battle.”

“I’m sorry,” Harry bowed his head. “It’s all my faul…”

“No!” Neji interrupted. “We are shinobi. We know the risks every time we take on a mission. It is not your fault.”

“So, you’re just gonna leave now? And that’s it?” Ron gaped at them. “No nothing?”

“It’s time for us to go home, Ron,” Sakura shook her head. “We have been away for almost a year now. This has been one of the longest missions ever assigned to a group this size. We need to return.”

“If ever you have need of us,” Gaara stepped forward, arms crossed over his chest, “you can always use the contract.”

“We’ll keep that in mind,” Harry nodded, he understood. He finally understood. It was time. It was not only time for their guards to return to their place in the world, but for those in this world to take up their roles and do things for themselves.

“Well,” he extended his hand, “I guess this is goodbye.”

With a grin, Naruto grasped the proffered hand and shook it. The others bowed to the wizards before gathering around Dumbledore’s desk, where a ratty looking old sneaker was sitting.

“If you’re ever in Japan,” Shikamaru smirked as they all placed a finger on the Portkey, “be sure to look us up.”

The wizards nodded as a blue light surrounded the shinobi and they disappeared from the office.

888888

The journey home on the Hogwarts Express next day was eventful in several ways. Firstly, Crabbe and Goyle, who had clearly been waiting all week for the opportunity to strike without teacher witnesses, attempted to ambush Harry halfway down the train as he made his way back from the toilet. The attack might have succeeded had it not been for the fact that they unwittingly chose to stage the attack right outside a compartment full of D.A. members, who saw what was happening through the glass and rose as one to rush to Harry’s aid. By the time Ernie Macmillan, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Antony Goldstein, and Terry Boot had finished using a wide variety of hexes and jinxes Harry had taught them, Crabbe and Goyle resembled nothing so much as two gigantic slugs squeezed into Hogwarts uniforms as Harry, Ernie, and Justin hoisted them into the luggage rack and left them there to ooze.

“I must say, I wish Malfoy had been with them,” said Ernie with some disappointment, as he watched the pair squirm above him. Ernie had never quite got over the indignity of Malfoy docking points from Hufflepuff during his brief spell as a member of the Inquisitorial Squad.

“Goyle’s mum’ll be really pleased, though,” said Ron, who had come to investigate the source of the commotion. “He’s loads better looking now…. Anyway, Harry, the food trolley’s just stopped if you want anything….”

Harry thanked the others and accompanied Ron back to their compartment, where he bought a large pile of Cauldron Cakes and Pumpkin Pasties. Hermione was reading the _Daily Prophet_ again, Ginny was doing a quiz in _The Quibbler_ , and Harry was surprised to see Draco sitting in the farthest corner hidden from view of the door window.

“What’s going on in here?” Harry asked, looking pointedly at the blond.

“I had to get away from those two idiots,” the Slytherin shrugged. “They wanted to attacked you and I didn’t.”

“I see,” he nodded. “They you’ll be happy to know that they currently resemble slugs in a compartment down the train.”

Harry sat down next to him and handed him one of the treats he’d purchased. Draco took it with a smile, pulling the brunet closer to him. The other three occupants of the compartment were watching with some amusement.

“Something you two would like to tell us?” Ginny giggled.

“None of your business, Weaselette,” the blond smirked, not relinquishing his hold.

The four Gryffindors laughed, knowing there was no actual bite behind the words.

Harry and Ron whiled away most of the journey playing wizard chess while Draco watched and occasionally helped his boyfriend out and Hermione read out snippets from the _Prophet_. It was now full of articles about how to repel dementors, attempts by the Ministry to track down Death Eaters, and hysterical letters claiming that the writer had seen Lord Voldemort walking past their house that very morning….

“It hasn’t really started yet,” sighed Hermione gloomily, folding up the newspaper again. “But it won’t be long now….”

“No, I don’t suppose it will,” Harry shook his head. “But no matter what happens, we need to keep going. I learned that from the shinobi.”

Draco smirked and pulled Harry onto his lap, “I learned to keep your secrets and your friends close.”

“I think we all learned something from them,” Hermione grinned. “In one way or another.”

“Well,” the blond sighed and moved his boyfriend back to his own seat, “I should be going. It wouldn’t be good if anyone found me exiting the train with you lot.” He leaned down and gave Harry a chaste kiss on the lips, “I’ll see you at some point during the holidays, I promise.”

A faint blush strained Harry’s cheeks as he nodded. Draco gave one final smirk before he exited the compartment. The other three just managed to contain their laughter at their friend’s discomfort.

As the train slowed down in the approach to King’s Cross, Harry thought he had never wanted to leave it less. He even wondered fleetingly what would happen if he simply refused to get off, but remained stubbornly sitting there until the first of September, when it would take him back to Hogwarts. When it finally puffed to a standstill, however, he lifted down Hedwig’s cage and prepared to drag his trunk from the train as usual.


End file.
